In 1777, at Montreal, McGill purchased the former home of the Baron de Becancourt for his new family on Notre-Dame Street, next to the Château Ramezay. In about 1797, he was said to have purchased the farm he called Burnside which he used as a summer home. Burnside was near a farm belonging to the Desrivières family to the east, and the McTavish estate to the north and west. A burn ran through the property, from which McGill gave it its name. The land was used for orchards, vegetable farming and cattle-grazing. In 1787, an elm took root in the upper meadow of Burnside which grew into the "Founder's Elm" and survived until 1976 when it became dangerous and had to be felled.