Grosse Isle facts for kids
|
Native name:
Grosse Île
|
|
|---|---|
 Grosse Isle
Location in Quebec
|
|
| Geography | |
| Location | Gulf of Saint Lawrence |
| Coordinates | 47°02′N 70°40′W / 47.033°N 70.667°W |
| Archipelago | 21-Island Isle-aux-Grues archipelago |
| Area | 7.7 km2 (3.0 sq mi) |
| Length | 4.8 km (2.98 mi) |
| Width | 1.6 km (0.99 mi) |
| Administration | |
|
Canada
|
|
| Province | Quebec |
| Municipality | Saint-Antoine-de-l'Isle-aux-Grues |
| Official name: Grosse Île and the Irish Memorial National Historic Site | |
| Designated: | 1974 |
Grosse Isle (which means "big island" in French) is an island in the St. Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada. It is one of 21 islands in the Isle-aux-Grues group. The island is part of the municipality of Saint-Antoine-de-l'Isle-aux-Grues.
Grosse Isle is also known as the Grosse Isle and the Irish Memorial National Historic Site. It was once a special station for immigrants coming to Canada. Many of these immigrants were Irish people escaping the Great Famine between 1845 and 1849.
The Canadian government first set up this station in 1832. It was used to help control a cholera outbreak. This outbreak was thought to be caused by many European immigrants arriving. Later, in the mid-1800s, the station reopened for Irish immigrants. Many of them had caught typhus during their long sea journeys. Thousands of Irish people were kept on Grosse Isle from 1832 to 1848.
It is believed that over 3,000 Irish people died on the island. More than 5,000 are thought to be buried in the cemetery there. Many others died on the way to the island. Most who died on the island had typhus. This was due to very poor living conditions in 1847. Grosse Isle is the largest burial place for people who died escaping the Great Famine outside of Ireland. After Canada became a country in 1867, the buildings and equipment were updated.
Grosse Isle is sometimes called Canada's Ellis Island. Ellis Island was a famous immigration center in the United States. It is estimated that nearly 500,000 Irish immigrants passed through Grosse Isle. This was between its opening in 1832 and its closing in 1932.
Contents
Arriving at Grosse Isle
When immigrant ships reached Grosse Isle, they could not continue their journey. They first had to prove they were free of disease. Ships with sick people on board had to fly a blue flag. Dr. George Douglas was the chief medical officer at Grosse Isle. He said that by mid-summer, the rules for checking ships were impossible to follow. This meant immigrants had to stay on their ships for many days. Dr. Douglas thought that cleaning and airing out the ships would stop diseases from spreading.
Robert Whyte wrote a diary about his journey on a "coffin ship" in 1847. He described how Irish passengers on the ship Ajax dressed in their best clothes. They helped the crew clean the ship. They hoped to go to a hospital or to Quebec after their long trip. But the doctor only checked them quickly and did not return for days. By mid-summer, doctors were checking people very fast. They would just let people walk by and only check the tongues of those who looked sick. Because of this, many people with hidden fevers were allowed to pass as healthy. They would then get sick after leaving Grosse Isle.
On July 28, 1847, Whyte wrote about the neglect of his fellow passengers. He said they were "within reach of help" but "were to be left surrounded by terrible sickness." They had no medicine, no doctors, no food, and not even clean water. But conditions on other Irish ships were even worse. Two Canadian priests visited the Ajax. They described other ships where they were "up to their ankles in filth." The immigrants were "crowded together like cattle." Whyte compared this to German immigrants arriving at Grosse Isle. They were all healthy, "comfortably and neatly dressed, clean and happy." The Times newspaper also said the Germans were "healthy, strong, and cheerful."
We do not know the exact number of people who died at sea. Whyte himself guessed it was 5,293. During the journey, bodies were thrown into the sea. But once ships reached Grosse Isle, bodies were kept in the ship's hold. They waited until they could be buried on land. The dead were pulled out of the ships with hooks. They were "stacked like firewood" on the shore. On July 29, 1847, Whyte saw "a continuous line of boats." Each boat was carrying its load of dead to the burial ground.
Even passengers who did not get typhus or other diseases were weak from the journey. A U.S. Senate Committee described the newly arrived immigrants as "feeble." Most had been tricked by people selling tickets. They were told they would get food on the ship.
Living Conditions on the Island
Before the crisis in 1847, sick people went to hospitals. Healthy people stayed in sheds for their quarantine time. But in 1847, the island quickly became too crowded. Tents were set up for the many new arrivals. Still, many people were left lying on the ground without shelter. Robert Whyte saw "hundreds... literally thrown on the beach." They were "left among the mud and stones to crawl on the dry land as they could."
The Anglican Bishop of Montreal, Bishop Mountain, saw people near the church. They were screaming for water. Others lay inside tents without blankets. He saw one child covered in bugs. Another child "sat down for a moment, and died." Many children became orphans.
People found shelter in the sheds. These sheds were dirty and crowded. Patients lay in beds stacked two high. This allowed dirt from the top bed to fall onto the lower one. According to a report, two or three sick people would be put in one bed. This happened no matter their age or gender. There was no bread. Meals were tea, thin porridge, or soup served three times a day. Drinking water was brought by cart. There was never enough for the sick patients. A Catholic priest, Father Moylan, gave water to sick people in a tent. They had not been able to drink for 18 hours.
The sheds were not meant for sick people. They had no fresh air. New sheds were built without toilets. The Senate Committee said there were not enough staff or space. So, there were not enough people to remove those who died during the night. The hospitals themselves had very little equipment. Sometimes, there were no wooden boards for beds.
In Quebec City, French and English-speaking Catholic priests helped immigrants. They also helped those recovering from sickness who came from the island. Father McMahon helped organize aid for the sick and the orphans during this terrible time.
Island Staff and Volunteers
There was a shortage of doctors and nurses. Dr. Douglas tried to hire healthy female passengers as nurses and doctors. He offered high wages, but no one accepted. People were afraid of getting sick. Nurses were expected to sleep next to the sick and share their food. They had no privacy. They often caught the fever themselves and received no help when they fell ill.
Prisoners from the local jail were released to work as nurses. But many of them stole from the dead and dying. All the medical officers got sick at some point. Four doctors died of typhus. By law, ships did not have to carry a doctor. Only two doctors arrived as passengers. One was Dr. Benson from Dublin. He had experience in fever hospitals in Ireland. He arrived on May 21. He volunteered to help the sick, caught typhus, and died within six days.
More than forty Irish and French Canadian priests and Anglican clergymen worked on Grosse Isle. Many of them also became sick. The Chief Pastor, Bishop Power, caught fever and died. This happened after he gave the last prayers to a dying woman in September. The Mayor of Montreal, John Easton Mills, also died while caring for the sick.
Life After Grosse Isle
Many immigrants who passed the quick health checks at Grosse Isle got sick soon after. Some died in the camp for "healthy" people on the eastern side of Grosse Isle. When a priest, Father O'Reilly, visited this area in August, he gave last prayers to fifty people. In just one week in August, 88 deaths happened among the "healthy" people.
On June 8, Dr. Douglas warned the authorities in Quebec and Montreal. He said an epidemic was coming. The Sunday before, between 4,000 and 5,000 "healthy" people had left Grosse Isle. Dr. Douglas believed two thousand of them would get fever within three weeks. Thousands were being sent to Montreal. They were weak and helpless. Some crawled because they could not walk. Others were "lying on the docks, dying." Immigrants in Quebec were described as "thin people" huddled "in church doorways, on the docks and streets." They seemed to be in the last stages of sickness and hunger.
From 1847 to 1848, about 3,000 to 6,000 Irish people died from ship fever. They died in special "fever sheds" set up at Windmill Point in Montreal. Their remains were found in 1859 by workers building the Victoria Bridge. These workers put up the Black Rock memorial in their honor. Its message says:
- "To preserve from desecration the remains of 6000 immigrants who died of ship fever A.D.1847-8 this stone is erected by the workmen of Messrs. Peto, Brassey and Betts employed in the construction of the Victoria Bridge A.D.1859."
Other cities, like Kingston and Toronto, wanted to move immigrants along quickly. Whyte wrote about seeing one family hiding under boards by the road. He said "there is no way to know how many of the survivors of so many difficult times were killed by the harshness of a Canadian winter."
One immigrant who survived was the grandfather of Henry Ford. He was the founder of the Ford Motor Company.
Memorials and History
A national memorial, the Celtic Cross, was put up on the island on August 15, 1909. It was designed by Jeremiah O'Gallagher. He was the Country President of the Ancient Order of Hibernians at the time. This monument is the largest of its kind in North America. In 1974, the Canadian government made the island a National Historic Site. Another memorial was put up on the island in 1997.
Key Events in Grosse Isle's History
- 1832: The first quarantine station is set up to control a cholera outbreak.
- 1847: The island is overwhelmed by sick Irish immigrants during the Great Famine. Thousands die.
- 1862: Medical improvements and steamships help reduce disease spread.
- 1909: The Ancient Order of Hibernians puts up a large Celtic cross. It has messages in Irish, English, and French. This is to remember those who died in 1847 and 1848.
- 1932: Grosse Isle stops being a quarantine station. City hospitals can now handle immigrants.
- 1939 - 1945 (approx): The Canadian Department of National Defence uses the island. They research biological warfare, including making anthrax.
- 1956: Agriculture Canada takes over the island. They use it to quarantine animals.
- 1974: The Canadian government declares the island a National Historic Site.
- 1993: Grosse Isle becomes a national historic park. It is run by Parks Canada.
- 1997: A new memorial is put up to honor those who died on the island.
- 1998: Grosse Île and the Irish Memorial National Historic Site partners with the National Famine Museum in Strokestown, Ireland.
Visiting the Irish Memorial National Historic Site
Visitors can explore many of the buildings used by immigrants and island staff. The disinfection building shows the original showers, waiting rooms, and steam disinfection tools. It also has a multimedia display about the island's history. You can walk or take a trolley to see the village and hospital area. This includes the 1847 lazaretto (quarantine station), the Catholic chapel, the Anglican chapel, the superintendent's gardens, the eastern dock, and a transport museum.
During certain seasons, actors in costumes play different islanders. They might be quarantine station staff, a nurse, a Catholic priest, a cart driver, or a school teacher.
The lazaretto has an exhibit about the sad experiences of the immigrants in 1847.
A walking path leads to the Celtic cross and the Irish Memorial. This memorial honors the immigrants, the quarantine station workers, the sailors, the doctors, and the priests who died on this island.
