History of the Domaine du
Théâtre de la Dame de Coeur

Around 1853, a wealthy Scottish merchant from New York by the name of Anthony MacEvilla built a flour and carding mill on the site known today as the Domaine du Théâtre de la Dame de Coeur. A sawmill was added soon after. The mill generated significant economic activity until about 1875.

The ensuing decline was due to the combined effects of increased competition, the advent of electricity and the shifting of economic activity from the town of Upton to a Montreal-Portland railway depot. The heirs of MacEvilla sold the estate, keeping only one house for their summer retreat.

The mills were never profitable, passing through different owners until the entire estate was sold in 1922 to Monseigneur Desmarais, who resold it to the education board.

The Domaine then became a home economics school. Following the 1968 school reform, the site was rented to the Conseil Régional des Loisirs Richelieu-Yamaska, which transformed it into an outdoor centre. In 1975, the domain was abandoned and became the target of vandalism over the next three years until the TDC moved in.