On July 15, 1674, the governor Frontenac concedes to Olivier Morel, seigneur de la Durantaye, the seigniory  of Kamouraska, that is to say "trois lieues de front le long du fleuve Saint-laurent, savoir deux lieues au dessus de la rivière appelée Kamouraska et une lieue au dessous, icelle comprise, avec deux lieues de profondeur dans les dites terres, ensemble les îlets étant audevant des dites trois lieues pour du tout jouir en fief, seigneurie, haute, moyenne et basse justice."   The seigniory of Kamouraska will be cleared only about twenty years after its concession.  From 1694 to 1700, 27 families are established there on their plot of land.  Forty years later, 320 people live in the Parish of Saint-Louis-de-Kamouraska, founded in 1709;  unfortunately the registers concerning the years 1709 to 1727 disappeared.  Kamouraska ... this name will soon design a village, then a few centuries later, it will extend to a large area.  "Kamouraska", i.e "were there is rushes at the edge of water".
 
 

    On November 5, 1680, Olivier Morel sells his seigniory of Kamouraska to Charles-Aubert de la Chesnaye, already seigneur of Rivière-du-Loup.  On October 18, 1700, he gave the seigniory to his son, Louis-Aubert de Forillon.  At this time, the seigneur, usually a noble man or a regiment's officer, received from the governor or the intendant a land in fee at a charge of towards the Crown.  For his part, the seigneur conceded or rented lands to "colons" (settlers) who were to pay him a taxable quota of 5 sous (pennies) per cleared arpent, to grind their grain in the communal mill, to defend the country by the weapons if necessary.  With these taxable quotas and revenues, the seigneur layed out roads, build the communal mill, etc...
 

    On January 1692, Charles-Aubert de la Chesnaye, at this time seigneur, made draw  up by land-surveyor Le Rouge the contract "measuring of the lands and seigniory of Kamouraska".  According to Chambalon notary records, we learn that from 1694 to 1701, 33 concessions were conceded by Charles-Aubert de la Chesnaye.  Thus, on June 30, 1695, there is concession to Pierre Micheau living at Kamouraska "land consisting of 12 arpents of frontage (on the river) by 30 in depth, bordered on the south-west side by a brook, going up the river three arpents and on the north-east corner up the small brook that has no name and will be called Boisverd or Boisvert, nine arpents."  Pierre Micheau thus owns the largest land granted at Kamouraska.  The  concession to Pierre Michau, the son, had only four arpents of frontage by thirty in depth, bordered to the "sorouest (south-west)" by the land of Pierre Fournier, his uncle, and to the "nordest (north-east)" by that of René Pelourde.

    Owing to the plan of the seigneurie of Saint-Louis-de-Kamouraska dressed in 1946 by Arthur Massé and whose names of the settlers were recalled on the official report of the land-surveyor  Noël Beaupré in 1726, one can recall the two lands on the first concession boundering the St. Lawrence River.
 
 

    The land where Pierre Micheau died is the concession bearing the name "héritiers Pierre Michaud".  The concession more to the west bearing the name "Pierre Michaud" is the land of his elder son.  Mr Guy Drapeau, in charge of the Art and Historical Center of Kamouraska, informed me that this concession today includes plots number 12 to 23 from the land register of Saint-Louis-de-Kamouraska.
 
 

  From July 29 to August 8, 1999, Kamouraska was celebrating its 325th anniversary.
 
 

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