WATCH ABOVE: History was on display in the Point Saturday afternoon, as the Great Cavalcade paraded through the streets. The event marks the 350th anniversary of the arrival of the first horses to New France.
MONTREAL – If you wandered into the Point on Saturday afternoon, you may have felt like you were stepping back in time.
About 30 horse-drawn carriages, slowly made their way through the streets of what was once the farm of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame, one of the first farms in Pointe-Saint-Charles.
The Great Cavalcade, was organized by the Maison Saint-Gabriel to mark the 350 year anniversary of the arrival of the first horses in New France.
Each horse-drawn cart represented a different trade, to help people imagine what life in Montreal neighbourhoods was like before the advent of cars.
Onlookers were invited to chat with the different tradespeople represented in the parade such as the notary, the priest, the milkman, the breadman and even the hearse driver.
Many of these carts were still being used as a late as the 1950s.
The parade started at 1 p.m. on Charlevoix Street, then wound its way through the neighbourhood to finally gather at Marguerite-Bourgeoys park.
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