Municipality

The Round Barn

The Mansonville Round Barn

The Mansonville Round Barn is an inspiring piece of unique architecture, and a heritage landmark that enhances the natural beauty surrounding it. The century-old barn is a priceless community asset because only seven remain in the Eastern Townships, and no other is located in a town!

At present, you can only admire the round barn from the outside, as the interior is closed for an indefinite period. Due to non-conformities, the site represents a hazard for users. The municipality is currently assessing the need for remedial work.

The park surrounding the round barn is called Place de la Grange-ronde. A preliminary development plan is available here.

Tourist Brochure

POTTON MUNICIPAL VOLUNTEER GROUP RECEIVES AWARD – OCTOBER 21, 2021

The ”Action-Patrimoine” organization presented a prestigious award to the GBMP for the restoration of the Mansonville Round Barn, during an international online symposium held on October 20 and 21.

The Heritage Awards jury was particularly appreciative of the fact that the Round Barn restoration project was carried out by a group of volunteers, a project that they find inspiring for the community that advocates for heritage protection.

”Action patrimoine” is a non-profit organization, created in 1976, which acts on a national scale to protect and enhance Quebec’s heritage, both built and cultural landscapes. It publishes the excellent quarterly magazine Continuité, dedicated to heritage, and awards the Action patrimoine prizes every two years in three distinct categories. This year there were a total of 25 entries in the three award categories.

The GBMP thanks ”Action patrimoine” for the honour and recognition of its work with this prestigious award.

To view the award presentation, follow this link and go to minute 35 to 40.

VISIT OF THE MINISTER OF CANADIAN HERITAGE ON AUGUST 12, 2021

On Thursday, August 12th, 2021, the Municipality of the Township of Potton received a friendly visit from the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Steven Guilbeault, as well as the Liberal MP for Brome-Missisquoi, Lyne Bessette.
The two illustrious guests visited the three floors of the Round Barn with the councillors Bruno Côté and Jason Ball, representatives of the Municipal Volunteer Group of Potton (GBMP) Hans Walser and Edith Smeesters, and the president of the Potton Heritage Association, Lorraine Rouillard.

Photo in front of the Round Barn, from left to right:
Lyne Bessette, Hans Walser, Bruno Côté, Jason Ball, Steven Guilbeault, Lorraine Rouillard , Edith Smeesters.

VIDEO ON THE RESTORATION OF THE ROUND BARN OF MANSONVILLE

We invite you to watch this film by Louise Abbott which will give you an idea of the magnitude of the task that has been accomplished to restore the Round Barn.
To watch the video, please click HERE

Future use of the round barn and the surrounding grounds

Once all the renovation works completed, the barn will become a major attraction in the Eastern Townships, complementing the new development of Owl’s Head and this will inevitably contribute to the revitalization of our village.

On the three interior levels of the barn we’ll showcase:

A permanent exhibition on the history and heritage of our region
Occasional thematic exhibitions
A multifunctional room for conferences, shows or receptions.

On the Barn’s grounds, you’ll continue to have:

An innovative and educational community garden
Animation for children, outdoor cinema, concerts, country parties, etc.

Photo credits: Edith Smeesters and Louise Abbott

Photo title of the page taken by Geraldine Vincent

Above: July 2019 – The foundations have been redone and the structure has been straightened and strengthened. Work this spring included the replacement of doors and windows, new exterior cladding and landscaping.
Below: Work progress from the beginning