Unlike the rest of Beauport, most of the neighbourhood was in the seigneury of Notre-Dame-des-Anges, granted to the Jesuits in 1626. In 1645, Robert Giffard had the boundary of his seigneury moved to include the west bank of the rivière Beauport. From 1651, the Jesuits quarried stone at the eastern end of their seigneury; in 1660, they granted a quarry to Pierre Parent, whose family worked it until 1912.
The neighbourhood at a glance
BoroughBeauport
West Beauporteast of Limoilou
Life in the Vieux-Moulin
The vibe
A residential and commercial neighbourhood where more than half of households are made up of one person.
The housing
Mostly apartments in buildings under five storeys, often modest in size; detached houses are less common.
Nearby
Baie de Beauport · Domaine de Maizerets · Parc de la Rivière-Beauport
Good to know
Most homes here are rented. Prepare your rental application before the viewing.
Landmarks
- Avenue Royale
- Promenades Beauport
- Parc des Cascades
History
The history of the Vieux-Moulin
- 1626Seigneury granted to the Jesuits
- 1845The Beauport asylum opens
- 1912The municipality of Giffard is created
- 1934Saint-Ignace-de-Loyola church is blessed
- 1976Merged into the city of Beauport
Around 1695, the Jesuits built a flour mill on the ruisseau du Moulin; destroyed by fire in 1948, it gave its name to avenue du Vieux-Moulin. In 1759, the Marquis de Montcalm set up his headquarters near a redoubt built on the Giffard hillside. In 1785, a new seigneurial mill was built on the west bank of the rivière Beauport, near its mouth.
On September 15, 1845, the Asile provisoire de Beauport opened: it was the first psychiatric institution in Québec. Entrusted to the Sœurs de la Charité de Québec in 1893, it formed the municipality of Saint-Michel-Archange in 1897. In 1912, the municipality of Giffard was created west of the rivière Beauport and named in honour of the first seigneur. Its church, Saint-Ignace-de-Loyola, was blessed on June 6, 1934.
On January 1, 1976, Giffard and Saint-Michel-Archange were merged into Beauport, and the hospital was renamed Centre hospitalier Robert-Giffard. Beauport was in turn merged into Québec City in 2002. The neighbourhood contains the largest landlocked farmland in the city, bought in 2014 by the Dallaire real estate group, which plans to build some 6,500 housing units there.
Frequently asked questions about the Vieux-Moulin
Where is the Vieux-Moulin neighbourhood?
In the western part of the Beauport borough in Québec City, between the rivière Beauport and the La Cité-Limoilou and Charlesbourg boroughs, north of the St. Lawrence River.
Where does the name Vieux-Moulin come from?
The neighbourhood shares its name with avenue du Vieux-Moulin, which recalls a flour mill built by the Jesuits around 1695 on the ruisseau du Moulin. The mill was destroyed by fire in 1948.
Which former areas make up Vieux-Moulin?
Mainly the former municipality of Giffard, which existed from 1912 to 1976, and that of Saint-Michel-Archange, formed around the hospital now called the Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Québec.
How do I find an apartment for rent in the Vieux-Moulin?
Rental units managed by Lease Lane in the Vieux-Moulin will soon be listed on the site, along with the online rental application. In the meantime, Cléo can notify you as soon as a unit is posted.
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