Father Clovis Beauregard, a Roman Catholic Priest from Quebec, witnessed the stark lives of orphans in his home province, and wished to give them a more hopeful future to look forward to. In 1935, he purchased a farm in St. Catherines, Ontario, and brought in orphan boys from Quebec. The boys would both work and receive an education on the farm.

In 1936, Father Clovis’ niece, Therese St. Jean, joined them on the St. Catherine’s farm as a housekeeper and teacher.

After 12 years in St. Catherines, Father Clovis sold the farm in 1947. They then moved to Georgetown and continued their operations on a farm here. The farm was located at Lot 17, Concession 8, Esquesing. It had originally belonged to Professor H.L. Hutt and then to Mr. And Mrs. Moyer.

Unfortunately, only three years after making the move to Georgetown, in 1950, Father Clovis was killed in a motor accident when he had a heart attack while driving his car. Therese St. Jean was then left in charge of the farm and the boys on her own. She almost gave up the farm, but eventually was persuaded by her church to continue on.

In 1954, the Georgetown Herald reported that there were 18 boys living and working on the farm, though the number most likely fluctuated over the years. It was also estimated that by 1954, 160 boys had already passed through the farm. Although most of the orphans were boys, there were times when a girl was reported being present. Most likely this was Gabrielle, Therese St. Jean’s niece.

Notre Dame de Beauregard was most well-known for their apples, but the farm included a vegetable plot, chickens, cows and sheep. Even today, many community members can recall seeing the farm’s red truck driving to Georgetown, Guelph, Kitchener and north Toronto in order to sell the apples. The farm relied on its produce sales to survive.

For a time, Charles and Gabrielle Migue, a young married couple, lived on the farm to help St. Jean. Charles was an orphan who had grown up on the farm and Gabrielle was St. Jean’s niece. Other graduates from the farm often moved away, though some remained close to Georgetown, which created the base of a local Francophone community.

Therese St. Jean continued to run the farm for many years. It wasn’t until she suffered three strokes that she sold the property to Cistercian monks in October of 1977, and moved to Valleyview Crescent with one remaining orphan. On December 10, 1977, she passed away at age 74. Thus, the story of Notre Dame de Beauregard came to an end.