Canada Hall
The Inn
The eighteenth-century inn located at one end of the Place de la Nouvelle-France was a popular meeting place for travellers and local men. Its modest size meant that guests could take a mattress and a blanket and sleep on the floor in front of the hearth. Food was cooked over the fireplace, and the selection of alcoholic beverages included wine, cider, eau de vie, rum, and locally brewed spruce beer.
When spruce boughs adorned the inn's outdoor sign, clients knew that
spruce beer had just been brewed. The sign on this inn, in the shape of
the sun, may represent le Roi-Soleil, King
Louis XIV of France.
For entertainment, guests enjoyed games such as nine-pin bowling,
checkers, chess, cards, and a solitary version of Chinese checkers.
Since much of the inn's clientele consisted of travellers and sailors
on shore leave, the inn was a good place for local folk to get news
from overseas.
Business deals were discussed, gossip was exchanged,
and sometimes exotic goods were purchased from travellers passing
through town. In short, there was always a great deal of activity
in the taverns
and inns of New France.
