les moulins de l'isle-aux-coudres - flour milling economuseum

If you are into history this attraction provides a living glimpse into the challenges and ingenuity of those that had to work the land before us just to survive. An operating windmill and watermill in such a dramatic and isolated location is pretty awesome.The tour was in French only but the guide was a history student from Ontario who absolutely loved her job. When we transitioned from one section of the tour to the next she would summarize what she said to the group for us in a minute or two. It made a huge difference. Especially for our kids.

The mill was very interesting and well-kept but as our French is very limited, we opted out of the French-only tour. Some of the displays are in English but not all.

It was an interesting experience to see a mill inside and out, and how it works after all.The site is in a lovely area of the island and great place to take wonderful pictures.

In the 21st century there is a place in the world called quebec were they speak French and tourist guides are in French. iPods an invention of the 21st century are available in French only and if you are english you are given a piece of paper to read! And all for $8! Viva la New France!I was bored.

A very interesting and charming tour of these two mills with different power sources.One learns the history of the mills and the 3 families involved and it is fascinating and even inspiring.Definitely worth a visit.Only one thing missing....some trout in the reservoir at the back of the property!

Great opportunity to visit an old mill, activated by water. The staff is welcoming and you can actually see the mill in action! This visit was very interesting for the whole family and we spent 2 hours there...

We drove on to Les Moulins de l’Isle-aux-Coudres, an example of what the Canadians call an economuseum. Since being restored to function in the 1990s, both the water-operated mill and the windmill still operate, producing both wheat and buckwheat (FR: sarrasin) flour for sale. (Visitors can buy bags of them in the gift shop.) We tagged along with a French-language tour of the milling room; the demonstration included activating the impressively large water wheel, fed from a mill pond. On our own, we explored the wind-driven mill, which serves as a backup during droughts and winter months, when the pond is frozen but the wind is reliable.Our favorite spot on the island was the Musee les Voitures d’Eau, was something between a naïve folk art environment and an interpretive center focused on the shallow-draft schooners (goelettes) that transported much of the trade goods, from grain to logs, up and down the lower St. Lawrence River until the 1970s. The museum was the creation of a retired skipper of one of these boats, Captain Eloi Perron. The exhibit room was like a mariner’s attic, filled with model boats and ships’ parts and pieces of engines, all painted either red or green, plus photos and text recounting the experiences of Capt. Eloi and other boatmen. An upstairs gallery displayed appealingly colorful and simple paintings of individual boats by J. DuFour, who we learned later was a descendant of Capt. Eloi; we gathered, a grandson. Exhibited in the walled yard outside were one of the schooners, accessed by stairs for visitors to explore, and several smaller rowboats. Cut-out figures, also by J. DuFour, in each boat represented individual boatmen, each with a text recounting a harrowing adventure on the river. The overall effect was charming and moving.

J'ai bien aimé faire la visite du moulin à eau et du moulin à vent. Une démonstration de la fabrication de la farine au moulin à eau nous permettait de mieux comprendre son fonctionnement. L'accueil est chaleureux et la visite offre un bon rapport qualité et prix.

nous avons effectué une visite des moulins de l'île au coudres et c'était pas mal. Le moulin à vent est impressionnant. Le moulin à eau est fonctionnel et très intéressant aussi. Nous avons circulé sur tout le site avec une poussette sans problème. Le musée intérieur est bien mais après la visite du musée des Voitures d'eau nous avons trouvé que ce dernier était nettement mieux. Site très propre avec de beaux bâtiments. Le moulin à vent est aussi visible du chemin du ruisseau rouge voisin du site.

Très intéressante visite du moulin à eau et du moulin à vent. Démonstration du système de mouture par pierre, fabrication des différentes farines, de sarrasin et de blé. Personnel très compétent et très intéressant. Une belle visite pour toute la famille sur un très beau site. Félicitations à tous ceux qui y participent.

Employés sympathiques et très informés. Nous avons eu droit à beaucoup d'explications et le jeune homme semblait bien motivé. Très plaisant à voir !

J'ai visité plusieurs moulins mais celui-ci fait classe a part! Deux moulins pour le prix d'un ( moulin a eaux et moulin a vent) : unique en amérique.Les moulins fonctionnent et le guide ( faire la visite guidée !!! ) est sympathique et bon pédagogue. Le moulin est la vedette et le guide le "streight man" qui le met en valeur.Un bel endroit à photographier!

Un arrêt s'impose pour voir le moulin à eau en marche et comprendre comment on faisait dans le temps. Les explications du meunier sont à la portée de tous les âges et le jeune guide tout à fait charmant!

Essayez de faire la visite guidee ( gratuite) car le moulin est mis en marche et toutes les phases dela fabrication de la farine sont tres bien expliquees.Attention, il n'y a plus de fabrication de pain, le four n'est plus utilise.