History of Grosse-Ile & Irish Immigrant Memorial

History of Grosse-Ile & Irish Immigrant Memorial

The island of Grosse-Île, which is a part of the Isle aux Grues archipelago, is situated in the St. Lawrence River’s center, about 48 km downstream from Québec City.

A law passed by the Lower Canada (now Québec) Parliament in 1832 designated Grosse Île as a quarantine area in an effort to stop the cholera epidemic from spreading throughout the territory.

The Grosse-Île quarantine station was shut down in 1937 after it was decided that, in the majority of cases, quarantine was no longer necessary because any illnesses could be treated immediately upon arrival at the Immigrant Hospital in Québec City.

Today, Grosse-ile and the Irish Memorial National Historic Site of Canada honor both the significance of immigration to Canada (primarily through the entry port of Québec) and the awful experiences Irish immigrants had, particularly during the typhus epidemic of 1847.