The Lapointe house in Clermont in Charlevoix was built in 1811 at the request of Alexis Tremblay, known as Picoté, an important historical figure for the region but also for its neighbor Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean.
Picoté is one of the founders of the Society of Twenty-One. This joint stock company is the origin of logging and the founding of the first settlers in Saguenay in the spring of 1838.
Picoté's grandson Alexis Lapointe, known as Alexis le Trotteur, would have lived in the building at the time. This colorful character left his mark with his exploits as a runner and his own identification with a rider.
The house was acquired by the Charlevoix Historical Society in 2020 and recognized as a heritage site by the City of Clermont in 2021. In the fall of 2023, the home was purchased by individuals who are currently completing exterior and interior renovations.
“If this continues, we will have to chase the story of Alexis the Trotteur,” says Gaston Cadrin, vice president of the Group of Initiatives and Applied Research in the Environment (GIRAM), a nonprofit arm of Levi's.
According to him, the renovation work currently being carried out “defaces” the house and “modifies original elements”, thereby losing its historical character. PVC windows were installed and the skylights of the roof windows were widened, he says indignantly.
He claims, among other things, that the city should have prevented these renovations because they “distort” the building's architecture.
“It's the only house the city has named Clermont, and they're renovating it, not restoring it! “Soon we won’t recognize them anymore,” says Mr. Cadrin indignantly.
A house was “saved” from a fire.
The mayor of the city of Clermont “wonders why” an organization “from Lévis” is taking this issue to heart today, when the house has spent more than three years in “a deplorable state”.
“It was damaged by fire, no one wanted to invest in this house anymore!” says Luc Cauchon, who claims it was saved “from the heights of the demolitionists”.
In March 2020, a sad fire ravaged the neighboring house and caused the death of two foreign workers.
“The group of mobilized citizens and then the Historical Society could not invest more to restore it like the original, it would have been prohibitively expensive,” explains Mr. Cauchon.
He claims that the acquisition of the house by the Charlevoix Historical Society and its inscription on the heritage list was carried out with the aim of obtaining financial support from the Ministry of Culture and Communications.
By email, the Ministry of Culture and Communications explains that “no request has been made for financial support for the restoration of the Lapointe House in Clermont.”
“In the meantime there was a buyer, and well done! We are happy because it will restore the area and it will be very beautiful,” emphasizes the mayor, adding that the issue of insurance scares off many potential buyers.
He admits that the renovations carried out are not “faithful to the 19th century”, but claims that they were revised by the Urban Planning Advisory Board and that they respected the implementation and architectural integration plan of the city.
“For the skylights, I was told there was nothing else they could do to properly insulate the window area,” says Mr. Cauchon, who assures the house “will retain its character.”
For its part, the Charlevoix Historical Society adds that it is “proud to have saved this house that no one wanted to buy.”
“The skylights weren’t even original, they were rebuilt in the 70s. This house has historical, not architectural, heritage value,” proclaims Serge Gauthier, historian of the society.
A difference in vision?
Jean-Louis Vallée, CEO of the Fédération Histoire Québec, would first like to highlight the preservation work carried out by the Charlevoix Historical Society.
“To be honest, I congratulate them, there are not many people who can do this, especially not historical societies. Their goal is not to save buildings,” says Mr. Vallée.
However, like Martin Dubois, founder of the company Patri-Arch, he regrets the renovation work on the dormer windows. Mr. Dubois claims, among other things, that “there would have been another way to isolate.”
“It’s so big that it detracts from the character of the house,” Mr. Dubois adds.
The specialist who carried out the heritage inventory of the city of Clermont in 2014 maintains that the Lapointe house actually had architectural value, although he admits that “unfortunately, certain elements have been removed over time”.
Mr. Vallée also admits that other modifications, such as modern windows, are far from worrying because they are reversible.
“The problem with modifying the dormer windows is that it affects the openings and structure of the house and is therefore potentially irreversible,” explains Mr. Vallée.
In his opinion, this “reduces the value of heritage” and “opens the door for the heritage designation to be withdrawn” by another local council. A future owner could then demolish the building.
“In the 70s we wanted to restore all the heritage identical to the original. In the 80s we tried to bring out old elements to make them stand out […] Where are we in terms of heritage in 2024, where are we renovating or restoring? That is also a bit of a question,” he concludes.
A BREAD OVEN MANUFACTURER
Alexis le Totteur was born in 1860 and quickly left the family home. Endowed with a “simple” and nomadic spirit, he “walks” like a wanderer on the paths of Charlevoix and other regions of Quebec.
Lapointe was primarily a manufacturer of bread ovens. The latter were “of high quality,” but he performed them “at a slow pace because it allowed him to stay longer with his hosts,” writes Serge Gauthier in Histoire de Charlevoix.
According to the Canadian Bibliographic Dictionary, “unlike his parents, he could neither read nor write” and retained a “childlike spirit” throughout his life.
As time passed and the races “he became more and more identified with the horse: he neighed, kicked, trampled, whipped himself, harnessed himself, ran and even chewed oats.” According to eyewitnesses, he demanded horses, trains and even ships out to race. He died in Alma in 1924.