Roadwork unearths remnants of 1800s Montreal zoo run by the ‘Canadian Barnum’

This piece of history has resurfaced in recent weeks thanks to an archeological dig that unearthed what is believed to be part of a fountain marking the former site's entrance.

Long before the Plateau-Mont-Royal became one of Montreal’s trendiest neighbourhoods, the area was home to a 19th-century botanical garden and zoo where Montrealers marvelled at the sight of hippopotamuses, acrobatic circus acts and a live whale in a tank.

This piece of history has resurfaced in recent weeks thanks to an archeological dig that unearthed what is believed to be part of a fountain marking the former site’s entrance.

Jonathan Choronzey, an archeologist with the firm Ethnoscop, said the fountain was discovered during roadwork taking place on Pine Avenue.

“I don’t know if there’s a tourist attraction today that would compare,” Choronzey said in a phone interview. “It was as much English as French, rich and poor who could go there to admire the exotic animals and the shows.”

Historical records suggest the fountain base was part of one of the city’s first botanical gardens, which was founded by Joseph-Edouard Guilbault in the 19th century.

Choronzey said Guilbault was originally a horticulturalist who moved his garden several times before landing near what’s now Pine Avenue, around 1860. At the time, the area was still largely rural, which gave him plenty of space to expand and include an exotic animal menagerie and space to host travelling circuses.

Justin Ber, a board member of the historical society for the Plateau-Mont-Royal neighbourhood, said Guilbault started out selling exotic plants to the rich but soon branched out to other forms of entertainment.

A poster from 1862 advertised the arrival of the Hippozoonomadon circus, featuring the “largest elephants the world,” a hippopotamus, as well as horse riding and comedy shows.