FROM FARM TO MODERN: LOOKING BACK AT RANDALL AVENUE

Narrated by Councillor Berku and Library Director Janine West, walk with us as we uncover the history, the unique architecture, as well as the numerous personalities that lived on Randall Avenue. In its early days Côte Saint-Luc was a tiny farming community. The first families settled here in approximately 1750 and were descendants of the original families who helped found the city of Montreal a century earlier. These included such famous names as the Prudhomme’s who was CSL’s first mayor and the Decarie’s (CSL 3rd mayor) and perhaps lesser-known names as the Leduc’s and Lemieux’s (who was CSL 2nd mayor). The land was very fertile and crops such as turnips, melons and apples faired very well.  CSL grew very slowly was given village status in 1903 having reached a population of less than 500 but still only farmhouses dotted the landscape. Homes that were non-agricultural in nature began to appear after 1910 first around Wolseley and Hudson north and south of CSL Road then on Rosedale and on Randall as the farmers who had owned these long strips of land began to sell to developers. This 8th edition of Jane’s Walk in Côte Saint-Luc is a repeat of a walk we did virtually in 2021. This walk will explore the history, the unique architecture, as well as the numerous personalities that lived on Randall Avenue.