A walk through Domaine Howard Park
As visitors make their way through the beautiful and tranquil property of Domaine Howard Park, many my wonder how this majestic place came to be.
It all started with Benjamin Kate Howard, one of the first to explore the timber industry in the province.
He established his own company in 1906 called the BC Howard and Company. His company owned various timber mills throughout Quebec.
On March 22, 1913, Benjamin purchased a piece of land that belonged to the British American Land Company. It measured 588,152 square feet and eventually became the future property of Domaine Howard Park.
The first building to be constructed on the property in 1917 was made of stone. It was occupied by Benjamin’s son, Charles Benjamin Howard. Charles later became a Senator and Mayor of Sherbrooke.
Benjamin and Charles continued building onto the property. Charles built another place of residence and a garage next to his home. Benjamin started building his own home in 1921 but unfortunately, never got to live there. He passed away before construction was finished in 1923. As a result, Charles took over his father’s lumber company.
Charles bought his father’s entire property on October 11, 1921 and the Howard family continued to build on to it throughout the years.
They built other places of residence throughout the property that housed some of their employees. There was also a sugar shack, a tennis court, a barn, a chicken coop, and many other things built on to the property.
In 1926, Charles Benjamin decided he wanted another stone house built on the property. It became the gardener’s home and with it came a greenhouse. The greenhouse remains in the same place to this day.
On Jan. 1, 1962, Charles transferred his property to the city of Sherbrooke for the price of $285,000 and it was transformed it into the landscape that we see today known as the Domaine Howard Park.
When visiting the park, you can visit the historic homes of the Howard family. They remain on site to this day and hold historic and architectural value. They are identified as pavillon 1 (home of Charles), pavillon 2 (the home intended to be for Benjamin), and pavillon 3 (third home with a garage). For those looking for relaxation, there is plenty of green space and beautiful flower gardens in the park for all to enjoy at no expense from May to October.
If you want to visit the park, Le Rendez-vous Howard is holding their annual event throughout the weekend of September 6 to 8 that celebrates the city of Sherbrooke and the Domaine Howard Park. Various activities will be taking place throughout the day for adults and children that highlight aspects of the period between 1929 and 1939. For more information about the program, you can visit their website at www.rendezvousdhoward.com