This house comes from Madawaska, more precisely from Saint Basile. It was built by Laurent Cyr, son of Michel and Madeleine Thibodeau, married to Angélique Raymond.

Sometime before getting married, Laurent leased then bought the land owned by Simonet Hébert. Laurent was probably the one who built the house in which he lived afterwards. Possibly before his wedding, Laurent purchased part of the household implements and furniture he could not make himself.

He also got a wood stove required by the house apparently built without a fireplace. During the 1820s, Madwaska Acadians traveled more and more to Quebec or to the Saint Lawrence towns to buy the goods they deemed necessary.

Around 1850, Laurent whitewashed the east exterior wall of the house, the one facing the road. A gallery is built on the side towards the river, as traffic on the river was still considerable. After 1860, a gallery is built on the side towards the road. In addition, that same year, at the time of an agricultural fair, “Lawrence Cyre à Michael” won first prize for the best yearling colt.

Laurent and his wife Angélique had seven children and Laurent’s heir is his youngest son, also named Laurent. The date of the elder Laurent’s death is not known, but we know that the younger Laurent married Édith Daigle in 1872, in Saint David, United States.

Before they got married in 1872, the indoor walls of the house, having been left unfinished, were covered with newspapers. The small summer kitchen appears to date from this period, though we are unable to include it with certainty in the general remodeling.

The younger Laurent only had daughters. In 1905, Agnès, Laurent’s daughter, married Bélonie Thibodeau, and the couple inherited the farm. Around 1910, they had a new house built. The family of Agnès Cyr and Bélonie Thibodeau moved in the new house around 1914. From then on, the old one served as a storage shed.

On May 22, 1973, the Village historique acadien purchased from Camille Thibodeau, son of Agnès and Bélonie, Laurent Cyr (son of Michel) old housel. Originally, the house was believed to date from 1780, but after some research, it was found that the house was built at a later date, in fact around 1830. However, using new dating processes, it is possible that it was built as late as 1852.

Finally, the Cyr farm includes a house, a barn, a shed and a pigpen.

• Outdoor cellar entrance
• Makeshift stairway
• Indoor finishing simple and practically nonexistent
• Numerous 20-pane sash windows.
• Outdoor clapboard siding
• Square hew logs construction