Description of Historic Place

Croix de la Montain is a cruciform metal monument on a cement base with a red neon illumination system located at the junction of Centrale Street and La Montain Road in Memramcook.

Heritage Value

Croix de la Montain is designated a Local Historic Place for commemorating the first church in Memramcook.

Croix de la Montain is recognized for commemorating the site where the first church in Memramcook was built during recolonization. The cross was erected in 1906 under the direction of contractor Sylvain R. Gaudet and by craftsmen Marcel D. Leblanc and Émile S. Léger. The red neon system was installed in 1955. Following the canonical erection of the parish of Saint-Thomas de Memramcook in 1781, Msgr. Briand, Bishop of Quebec, appointed Father Joseph-Thomas-François Leroux as the first permanent parish priest. It is thought that the church was built in the early 1780s either by Father Bourg shortly before the arrival of Father Leroux or by Father Leroux when he arrived in Memramcook. A commemorative plaque was installed in 1981 for the bicentennial of the parish of Saint-Thomas de Memramcook.

Source: Village of Memramcook – Croix de La Montain

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements that describe Croix de la Montain include:
- handmade cast iron construction;
- main horizontal and vertical bars connected by diagonal bars attached with rivets;
- red fluorescent tubes;
- cement base;
- commemorative plaque.