Soon after Claude de Ramezay became governor of Montreal (a position he held from 1704 until 1724), he commissioned Pierre Couturier to design a grand residence along Notre-Dame Street. Several notable occupants were here during the 18th and 19th centuries. They included a fur-trading company, headquarters for Canada’s Continental Army, the residence of British governors and a university’s medical school. In 1895, this National Historic Site of Canada reopened as a history and art museum. The Château Ramezay collection consists of over 30,000 items.