"[2] The land near the Saint-Charles River was first possessed as a fief by the Recollect Friars Minor, who built the Friary of St. Charles there around 1620.

[7] The seigneury then passed to the Jesuits in late 1629, after the return of the friars to France following the capitulation of Quebec to the Kirk brothers by Champlain on 14 September 1629.

[1] In 1692, it was purchased by Jean-Baptiste de Saint-Vallier, Bishop of Quebec, to found a hospital, which he did the subsequent year.

The hospital is surrounded by a cemetery holding, among others, the remains of General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm.

It is one of two enclaves in Quebec City (along with the Wendake Indian reserve) that was not subject to the municipal mergers in 2002.