ORIGINAL MANTEL PIECE
Under de Ramezay's régime, 1703 to 1724, this venerable edifice was the hall of entertainment of the illustrious of the country. The many expeditions to the distant fur fields, the voyages of discovery of new lands, the councils of war, the military expeditions, the conferences with the Indians, the annual fairs and fur trading market, attracted to the shores of Montreal not only the governor general, the intendant, and their suites, but a considerable number of the most important people of the country, including all classes of society. To one and all the portals of this hospitable mansion were ever open. To the lowly Indian and his squaw, and to the exalted nobleman and his consort, the noble and beneficent Ramezay and his family showed equal attention. Fearless to the Indian or enemy, his bravery and charity were equally exemplified in the personal care and attention he and his family gave to the suffering citizens of Montreal during the pest which devastated the town in 1721.
De Ramezay died in 1724, and his family sold the château to the Compagnie des Indes in 1745. The latter retained possession until the cession in 1763, when it was bought by William Grant, who, in turn, disposed of it to the English government for the sum of 2,000 guineas. It thus became again the residence of the governors, and remained such up to 1849.
In 1775-6 the château was the headquarters for the Continental Army under Montgomery, and in the spring of 1776 there came Benjamin Franklin, Carroll of Carrollton, and Samuel Chase, envoys sent by Congress to influence the French Canadians to join the colonies in the revolt against British rule. Then came Benedict Arnold, who occupied the château for several weeks. The mark of the old reception dias is still seen on the salon walls.
Lord Metcalfe was the last resident governor, but for some years after his establishment in a new government house the château was used for departmental offices. When the government was withdrawn from Montreal, the château served several purposes. For some years courts were held here, and later the normal school, then courts again.
In 1894 the château was sold by the Provincial government and purchased by the Corporation of the City of Montreal for the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society, which in 1895 obtained the building for the purpose of founding their historical portrait gallery and museum.
Next to the Château de Ramezay on the west stood the house of the Baron de Becancourt, built at the beginning of the 18th century. It also passed into the hands of the Compagnie des Indes, and became their commissariat. In 1800 this building came into the possession of the McGill family and was long known as the "Old McGill House."