In the news

This past week I realized that I hadn't yet posted any photos of the current exhibition at the Trestler House (Maison Trestler) national historic site, where one of my watercolour paintings is on display.
It's always a thrill to see one of my works on a wall there, as this gorgeous building on the waterfront is more than 225 years old.

"A unique heritage property, Maison Trestler is a window back in time. Built in the late 1700s, the 16-room stone house is a shining example of Québec history, complete with period furniture, artifacts, even its own ghost!"
Trestler House features several gallery spaces on the ground floor, and a local history museum above. This museum also highlights its original owner's importance to the economic development of the area.
Just for fun, I've pulled together information from several different sources to create a brief timeline showing how this German man came to what's now Canada in the 1700s - and then created a home and business that would later become a national historic site.

1759: Johannes Trestler (Johann Joshef Tröstler) was born in Mannheim Germany [where I stayed for a week in 2002, taking trains to different cities each day while my husband stayed in Mannheim for work].
1776: At 17 Johannes signed on with the British Army, as a mercenary soldier, to fight off American incursions into now-Canada. "He may also have performed the duties of a military surgeon, as his continuing interest in medicine suggests... Over the years he built up an impressive medical library of some 130 volumes, most of them in German. One of his sons, Jean-Baptiste, became a surgeon and a professor at the Montreal School of Medicine and Surgery."
1783: Released from the British Army after seven years, Johannes headed to Montréal where he worked as a vendor selling merchandise as far afield as Rigaud (off the Island of Montréal) for a few years.
1786: Already fairly successful after leaving the British Army, and able to speak several languages, Johannes bought a property on the shore of the Lake of Two Mountains (le Lac des Deux-Montagnes) just off Montréal Island; he converted the existing wooden building into a general store and home.
This was a strategic site for travelers, a point of land along the paddling routes to both the Ottawa River and the St. Lawrence River - anyone heading to Ottawa or towards Toronto and the Great Lakes (or eastward to Montréal and beyond) by water would've passed by Johannes' shop and eventually his warehouse and other businesses. "Trestler’s profits from trade and industry enabled him to make loans and in particular to invest in real estate."
1798: The central portion of the current stone-built Trestler House, which again melded residential and business uses, was completed in 1798.
1805: The western portion of the structure was added.
1806: A new section was added to the eastern end of the building, creating the Trestler House as we see it now.
1808: "Having become a prosperous businessman, Trestler could not resist the attractions of a political career. He represented the riding of York in the fifth parliament of Lower Canada from 18 June 1808 until 2 Oct. 1809."
1813: Johannes passes away, at 56 years of age.
1969: Trestler House was designated as a National Historic Site by the Canadian Government.
1976: The building was finally designated as a historic monument by the Quebec Government.

"An ambitious merchant determined to prosper from growing trade through Montréal, Trestler built this prestigious house on the Ottawa River, the major river highway to Upper Canada and the West. Trestler’s descendents continued to occupy this house with little change until 1927. In 1984 it became the property of the Trestler Foundation, a private trust created to ensure its preservation and public accessibility as a heritage building."

Back to the present day, the "Fall-Winter Nature" exhibition ends in early January 2025. Trestler House, however, will be closed to the public during the holiday period as it has been reserved for a number of private and corporate events for Christmas and the New Year.
On that note, Happy Holidays! I'm sending all the best wishes to you and your loved ones for a Happy New Year - above all health, laughter, and love...