Le Bercail 
Bulletin de la Société de généalogie et d'his toire de la région de Thetford Mines 
Thetford Mines, octobre 1998 Vol. 7,  no 2


[page 19]

Inverness 
For this text, we thank all our employees  

[photo]
Bronze Museum in Inverness, August 15, 1998 

Inverness Historic Monument  

In 1861, contractors Thomas Mc Kenzle and John Mooney built a two-storey stone building, 54 feet long and 35 feet wide. In December 1889, a fire ravaged the building but was rebuilt on the same foundations by William Mc Vetty. The work was valued at $2,395 and was completed in December 1890. The building has a first floor in stone and a second one in brick. 

From 1861 until 1920, this building served as both the Palace of Justice and the Registry Office. The first floor had three rooms: one for the Registry Office, the second for City Council meetings and school board meetings. La l'orl, Vol. 7, No. 2-October 1998 demlère Salle was occupied from 1923 by the resident notary. On the porch were the contradictory cc assemblies, political debates of the county where differences of opinion sometimes led to a little violence. 

Courthouse  

On the second floor, a large courtroom was used as a judicial court during the trials. In addition, a vault (208 square feet) was used by prisoners. Beginning in 1910, the hall would also be used for quarterly meetings of the Mégantic Council Corporation, meetings of the Union of Agricultural Producers and funeral home. The court was in office until 1920. After several years of Inactivity, it was officially closed in 1946 and moved to Thetford Mines in 1950. 


[page 20]

Registrar

It was on September 1, 1861 that the Registrar was transferred from Leeds to Invemess. In January 1898 he was one of the first" in Quebec to have a typewriter for the transmission of contracts. Around 1910, the vault on the second floor served as a warehouse for the archives. The Registrar finally windowed its doors on 26 March 1987, following a decision by the National Assembly. He had to hand over his documents to Arthabaska's office. The half-director was René Chevrier, who held the position from 1964 to 1981. 

Bronze Museum 


Gérard Bélanger, painter and sculptor, moved to Inverness in 1974. Forced to sink his works outside Quebec, he went to Europe for three months and learned a new echnology: the casting of bronze. On his return, surrounded by a few friends, he puts his project on his feet. It was in 1987 that he opened the first art foundry, installed in the former Methodist church. For more than five years, he trained people in the noble craft of foundry and related specializations. Many visitors assailed the place, interested in seeing the molten metal turn into a work of art. 

This causes many problems: visitors disturb production, the smallness of the place cannot meet the demand and there is always the danger of casting the molten metal. Faced with the size of the 20 request, some members of the original team decided to open a second art foundry. This project was carried out in 1989 under the name "The Bronze Workshop".


Both smelters were quickly invaded by the public. A new idea has just been born: a museum. The project was presented and the Inverness Tourism Corporation (established since 1984) changed its charter to  "The Bronze Museum of Inverness". The provincial government provides $650,000 on the condition that the community contributes a down payment of $200,000. This is quite a challenge given that the village of Inverness has just 1,000 inhabitants. After many steps and three years of reflection, the project reaches its final concept. Cyril Simard introduces them to the concept of economuseology, "The action that meets reflection." In addition, the elected representatives of the canton of Inverness offer a historic building (the former courthouse) for the realization of this project. 

The museum multiplies its approaches with sculptors. Jean-Julien Bourgault offers one of his works "Tourbillon" and gives the museum the right to publish 12 copies. Bruno Hébert offers the museum a work by his ancestor, Louis-Philippe Hébert, with the title cc Le Gosseux" and allows them to make 30 copies. Each work is sold for $5,000 and becomes a direct contribution to the establishment of the museum. Several other artists will do the same. finally. The museum opened its doors to the public on June 17, 1995.