Manufactured by Bellefeuille & Frère, a foundry in Trois-Rivières, as the inscription indicates, this wooden model was designed to shape a metal mould that would allow cast iron to be introduced into it in order to mould and produce a bollard (also known as a mooring bollard) for mooring ships.

Frédéric Bellefeuille (1805-1873) was the son of Philippe Rivard dit Bellefeuille and Bénonie (Bélodie) Gadioux St-Louis. He was a carpenter and valet, and in 1827, he opened his carpentry, foundry, and forge shop under the banner of “Gros Marteau” on rue Notre-Dame in Trois-Rivières. Frédéric Bellefeuille’s sons, François-Xavier (1831-1910) and Achille (1844-1908), had operated the company since 1865, but officially took over for their father in February 1870. The company changed its name to F.X. Bellefeuille & Frère in 1888. One of Achille’s sons, Charles Bellefeuille (1870-1957), in turn took over when his father died in 1908. In 1914, the company became Bellefeuille & Frère.

Then, the eldest son of Charles Bellefeuille and Laura Morissette, Frédéric Bellefeuille, worked for the company. The latter was born on September 8, 1916, in Trois-Rivières. He studied at the Académie de La Salle, then at the École technique de Trois-Rivières, where he graduated as a machinist/welder. In 1934, he became the co-owner, along with his brother François, of the Bellefeuille & Frère foundry (still under the banner of Gros Marteau). The workshop closed its doors in March 1958, and the building was demolished in September 1961.

The Musée Pierre-Boucher | art + history preserves several objects from this company in its collections, such as mould models, including this bollard mould model and the second sign in the shape of a large hammer measuring 20 feet in length. The latter was produced in 1933 by Charles Bellefeuille and replaced the first sign, which had become worn out, just in time for the 300th anniversary celebrations for the city of Trois-Rivières in 1934.

Exactly nine days before the arrival of the very first donation made to our museum (July 12, 1882), a son was born into the family of Achille Bellefeuille, a mechanic, and his wife, Marie Élizabeth Dina Blais. He was baptized on the day of his birth (July 3, 1882) under the first names of Joseph Honorat Léon Auguste at the Immaculate Conception parish church in Trois-Rivières.

Donation from the Bellefeuille family
Musée Pierre-Boucher Collection
1979 621 I.1-2