Name/Title
CGG - Fletcher's Field / Parc Jeanne-ManceDescription
Jeanne Mance Park (French: Parc Jeanne-Mance), formerly known as Fletcher's Field (French: Champ de Fletcher), is an urban park in the Plateau Mont-Royal borough of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Named after the co-founder of Montreal, Jeanne Mance, the park is located along Park Avenue, opposite Mount Royal, and just south of Mount Royal Avenue. It has an area of 14 hectares. It is considered to be one of Montreal's large parks.
History
The park was previously known as Fletcher's Field. According to local tradition, the park was named after the Fletcher Family (Family of Lt. Colonel John Fletcher of 1st Volunteer Militia of Montreal / CGG), who lived on the outskirts of the grounds and pastured their cows there.
The history of the park began at the end of the 19th century with the planning of Mount Royal Park and the city's acquisition of land on Mount Royal, which ran from the summit of the mountain to Esplanade Avenue, between Pine Avenue and Mount Royal Avenue. In 1878, Montreal's Crystal Palace was relocated to Fletcher's Field.
The large open space of the exhibition hall was suitable for other uses. In later years, the hall would house a natural ice skating rink in the winter, and was one of the first indoor skating rinks in Canada. The skating rink was used by McGill University students to play ice hockey and the rink is the site of the first known photograph of ice hockey players in hockey uniforms, taken in 1881.The rink also housed the Crystal Skating Club and Crystal Hockey Club, more commonly known as the Montreal Crystals which played men's senior-level amateur hockey in the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada.
The structure was destroyed by fire in July 1896. In 1879, Fletcher's Field was identified by the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain as a notable source of Hyoscyamus niger, a psychoactive plant.
The park used as a military parade ground, as was Logan's Farm (now part of La Fontaine Park). During the Great War, troops were trained on Fletcher's Field. The Montreal Lacrosse Club and Royal Montreal Golf Club (as well as youth lacrosse and football clubs) also used Fletcher's Field.[6]
In September 1910, during the Montreal Eucharistic Congress, there was a campaign to rename the park in recognition of the founder of the Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal. The city of Montreal officially changed the name of the park to Jeanne Mance Park in 1990. The plaza entrance of Jeanne Mance Park opposite the Sir George-Étienne Cartier Monument is affectionately known as Place Fletcher's Field, serving as a reminder of the park's former name.Created By
Lieutenant Michael Hayes-Rivet, retired.Create Date
December 28, 2021Updated By
Major Brian Tracey, MMM, CD4, retiredUpdate Date
January 3, 2022
