The Homes of Cove Fields: A pop-up installation & a call for recollections from the public

Quebec City, August 29, 2023 – For a second year, the National Battlefields Commission (NBC) is proud to present a pop-up installation in memory of Cove Fields—a community that existed from 1945 to 1951. Also known as the Faubourg de la misère (“the poor suburb”), the community had been created out of former army barracks on the land behind the present-day Plains of Abraham Museum. With the help of archival photos, the installation will take visitors back to the homes of those years and bring to life a unique episode of Quebec City’s history. Relatedly, an ethnographic survey will preserve the living memory of those times. It is being jointly carried out by three organizations: La Horde Patrimoine appliqué; the Faculté des lettres et des sciences humaines of Université Laval; and the NBC. 
 

An enhanced version for 2023

After the initial installation of 2022, the NBC is offering a new version to familiarize visitors with the tight-knit community that once existed on the Plains of Abraham. The NBC gave this task to a firm specializing in architecture, urban design, and town planning: Groupe A / Annexe U de Québec. Their installation is inspired by the army barracks that were available at that time and which housed several dozen families. “The Plains of Abraham have a rich history that isn’t confined to military history. Besides the great battles, the site has been put to many uses, including its last civilian community. We’re working all the time to make these moments of history known to visitors in new and original ways,” says Annie Talbot, Secretary and CEO of the NBC.

Archival photos are posted on the six structures of this pop-up installation. By perusing them, the public can learn about this village of over a thousand residents, including nearly 700 children. It had a chapel, a school, and even a police station.  

The largest modules are as big as one of the dormitory units (13' x 15'). Each unit could house up to ten people. Visitors will thus be better able to imagine how families went about their lives on Cove Fields.

Admission to the site will be free to everyone from August 29 to October 31, 2023. For more information: theplainsofabraham.ca.
 

A call for recollections is launched

With the support of La Horde Patrimoine appliqué and the Faculté des lettres et des sciences humaines of Université Laval, the NBC is asking the public for their recollections of Cove Fields. To that end, there will be an ethnographic survey of people who used to live there between 1945 and 1951 or who have memories of that site.  

The NBC hopes to gather memories, anecdotes, or information about the community from the public. The recollections will be kept in the Commission Archives.

The ethnographers also hope to collect vestiges from that time—photos, documents, or other items—to document and preserve the memory of Cove Fields for posterity.  

To participate in the survey, visitors to the pop-up installation are asked to scan a QR code to access the forms they will need to provide their recollections and other information. The forms can also be accessed via the website theplainsofabraham.ca.

Paper versions of the forms are available at the reception desk of the Plains of Abraham Museum, 835 Avenue Wilfrid-Laurier, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Documents, photos, or physical items can be donated to the Commission Archives by bringing them to the museum reception desk during opening hours.