Eastern Townships
Encyclopedia
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, lying between the former seigneuries
Seigneurial system of New France
The seigneurial system of New France was the semi-feudal system of land distribution used in the North American colonies of New France.-Introduction to New France:...
south of the Saint Lawrence River
Saint Lawrence River
The Saint Lawrence is a large river flowing approximately from southwest to northeast in the middle latitudes of North America, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. It is the primary drainage conveyor of the Great Lakes Basin...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
border. Its northern boundary roughly followed Logan's Line, the geologic boundary between the flat, fertile St. Lawrence Lowlands and the Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
.
The region comprises counties that were originally divided into townships
Township (Canada)
The term township generally means the district or area associated with a town. However in some systems no town needs to be involved. The specific use of the term to describe political subdivisions has varied by country, usually to describe a local rural or semi-rural government within the county...
after the traditional method of land grant
Land grant
A land grant is a gift of real estate – land or its privileges – made by a government or other authority as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service...
s of the original New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
settlers. Earlier French settlement
Canada, New France
Canada was the name of the French colony that once stretched along the St. Lawrence River; the other colonies of New France were Acadia, Louisiana and Newfoundland. Canada, the most developed colony of New France, was divided into three districts, each with its own government: Quebec,...
along the Saint Lawrence River
Saint Lawrence River
The Saint Lawrence is a large river flowing approximately from southwest to northeast in the middle latitudes of North America, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. It is the primary drainage conveyor of the Great Lakes Basin...
had divided the landscape into parishes and Seigneuries
Seigneurial system of New France
The seigneurial system of New France was the semi-feudal system of land distribution used in the North American colonies of New France.-Introduction to New France:...
. The tourist region now covers most of the region. The administrative region, officially called Estrie
Estrie
The Estrie is an administrative region of Quebec that overlaps mostly the Eastern Townships. Estrie, a French neologism, was coined as a derivative of est, "east."...
, is slightly smaller. The principal cities are Sherbrooke, Granby
Granby, Quebec
Granby is a city in southwestern Quebec, located east of Montreal. The population as of the Canada 2006 Census was 47,637. Granby is the seat of La Haute-Yamaska Regional County Municipality. It is the fifth most populated city in Montérégie after Longueuil, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Brossard and...
, Magog
Magog, Quebec
Magog is a city in southeastern Quebec, Canada, about east of Montreal at the confluence of Lake Memphremagog--after which the city was named—with the Rivière aux Cerises and the Magog River...
, and Cowansville
Cowansville, Quebec
Cowansville is a town in south-central Quebec, Canada, located on Lac Davignon north of the U.S. border. It is the seat of Brome-Missisquoi, a regional county municipality...
. The towns of Drummondville, Victoriaville, and Thetford Mines are part of the historical region, but not part of the tourist. The region has summer colonies
Summer colony
The term summer colony is often used, particularly in the United States and Canada, to describe well-known resorts and upper-class enclaves, typically located near the ocean or mountains of New England or the Great Lakes...
used by vacationing Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
ers and several ski
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
resorts, including Mount Orford, Ski Bromont
Ski Bromont
Ski Bromont is an alpine ski resort located in Bromont, Quebec on the slopes of Mont Brome, Mont Spruce and Pic du Chevreuil. As of the 2009-2010 season, it was the largest centre in North America for illuminated alpine skiing. It is one of the four major ski centres in the Eastern Townships east...
, Mount Sutton, and Owl's Head.
Townships and Counties
The Eastern Townships were originally part of the following counties:- Arthabaska CountyArthabaska County, QuebecArthabaska County is an historical county in central Quebec, Canada. Its county seat was Arthabaska and the main city was Victoriaville. It was bounded on the northeast by Mégantic County on the southeast Wolfe County, on the southwest by Drummond County and Richmond County and on the northwest by...
- Brome CountyBrome County, QuebecBrome County, is a historical county of Quebec. It takes its name from the name of a manor in the parish of Barham in Kent, England that was named after the broom plant. It was named by English surveyors. The county was formed in 1855 from parts of Stanstead, Shefford and Missisquoi counties. ...
- Compton CountyCompton County, QuebecCompton County is an historical county in southeastern Quebec, Canada on the western flanks of the Appalachian Mountains on the US-Canadian border. It is in the Estrie region of the province and was named in 1793 after a town in Surrey, England by British officers who were convinced of the...
- Drummond County
- Frontenac County
- Megantic County
- Missisquoi CountyMissisquoi County, QuebecMissisquoi County is a historical county in Quebec. In the early 1980s Quebec abolished its counties. Much of Missisquoi County became the Brome-Missisquoi Regional County Municipality except the southwestern part was transferred to Le Haut-Richelieu Regional County Municipality.The name of the...
- Richmond County
- Stanstead County
- Shefford CountyShefford County, QuebecShefford County is an historical county in southern Québec, Canada. It is named after Shefford, a small town in Bedfordshire county, England of the same name and is in the Eastern Townships region of Québec....
- Sherbrooke County
- Wolfe County
In the early 1990s Quebec was reorganized into 17 official regions divided into regional county municipalities. The bulk of the Eastern Townships became the Estrie
Estrie
The Estrie is an administrative region of Quebec that overlaps mostly the Eastern Townships. Estrie, a French neologism, was coined as a derivative of est, "east."...
region, but Arthabaska, Drummond, and part of Wolfe and Megantic counties became part of the Centre-du-Québec
Centre-du-Québec
Centre-du-Québec is a region of Quebec, Canada. The main centres are Drummondville, Victoriaville and Bécancour. It has a land area of 6,928.78 km² and a 2006 census population of 224,200 inhabitants.-Description:...
region, the remainder of Megantic County became part of the Chaudière-Appalaches
Chaudière-Appalaches
Chaudière-Appalaches is an administrative region in Quebec, Canada. It comprises most of what is historically known as the "Beauce" |the electoral district of Beauce]]). It is named for the Chaudière River and the Appalachian Mountains....
region, and the Shefford and Missisquoi counties became part of the Montérégie
Montérégie
Montérégie is an administrative region in southwest Québec. It includes the cities of Boucherville, Brossard, Granby, Longueuil, Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Saint-Hyacinthe, Sorel-Tracy, and Vaudreuil-Dorion....
region.
Demographics
The area contains 41,000 native English-speaking inhabitants, a minority in the community.The area has been described as "populated by well-heeled cottagers and gentlemen farmers."
History
The first inhabitants of the region were the Abenaki Indians. This can be observed by the different names of towns, lakes and rivers, many of which are of Abenaki origin. They allied themselves with the French during the Seven Years' WarSeven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
to fight the British.
The region was part of New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
until the 1763 Treaty of Paris which granted the region to the British. Shortly after the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, a few United Empire Loyalists
United Empire Loyalists
The name United Empire Loyalists is an honorific given after the fact to those American Loyalists who resettled in British North America and other British Colonies as an act of fealty to King George III after the British defeat in the American Revolutionary War and prior to the Treaty of Paris...
, who fled the revolution in order to stay loyal to the British Crown, settled in the Eastern Townships. The land there was controlled by three English seigneurs
Seigneurial system of New France
The seigneurial system of New France was the semi-feudal system of land distribution used in the North American colonies of New France.-Introduction to New France:...
: Colonel Henry Caldwell
Henry Caldwell
Lt.-Col. Henry Caldwell, was a Canadian army and militia officer, a successful businessman and a member of the Legislative Council of Lower Canada....
had purchased what had been the Foucault Seigneurie, which ran along the Richelieu River
Richelieu River
The Richelieu River is a river in Quebec, Canada. It flows from the north end of Lake Champlain about north, ending at the confluence with the St. Lawrence River at Sorel-Tracy, Quebec downstream and northeast of Montreal...
and a little over the present day frontier; Colonel Gabriel Christie
Gabriel Christie (general)
Gabriel Christie was a British Army General from Scotland, who settled in Montreal after the French and Indian War. He was one the largest landowners in the British Province of Quebec....
was seigneur of Noyan
Noyan, Quebec
Noyan is a municipality in the province of Quebec, Canada, located in the Regional County Municipality of Le Haut-Richelieu. The population as of the Canada 2006 Census was 1,354.-Population:Population trend-Language:...
; and Thomas Dunn was seigneur of Saint-Armand
Saint-Armand, Quebec
Saint-Armand is a municipality in the Canadian province of Quebec, located within the Brome-Missisquoi Regional County Municipality. The population as of the Canada 2006 Census was 1,166.-Population:Population trend...
. The early loyalists settled in and around Missisquoi Bay. A popular misconception is that there was a huge influx of Loyalists to the Eastern Townships. In fact most of the immigration from New England happened in the early nineteenth century, thirty or so years after the Revolution. Most were farmers seeking new lands, something the townships had to offer.
Some Loyalists had moved to the area during the Revolutionary War. When it ended Sir Frederick Haldimand, the governor of Quebec, expected them to move westward with the rest of the Loyalists. He cut off the rations the government had been providing. However, they resisted efforts to be moved by force and were finally permitted to stay by Lieutenant Governor Henry Hamilton after Haldimand's return to England.
The status of the East Townships Loyalists was resolved when the seigneurs agreed to permit them to stay on their land for a nominal fee. The exact number cannot be ascertained, but a petition they sent to the governor included 378 names. Allowing for a family of five, this could suggest a population of about 1600 or so. The land they settled on, the present-day area of Noyan, Clarenceville and St. Armand, was not part of the Eastern Townships (which were not opened to settlement until 1791), but have since been regarded as part of the Townships.
Under the terms of the Constitutional Act of 1791
Constitutional Act of 1791
The Constitutional Act of 1791, formally The Clergy Endowments Act, 1791 , is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain...
, the Eastern Townships were open to settlement and a land rush
Land run
Land run usually refers to an historical event in which previously restricted land of the United States was opened for homesteading on a first arrival basis. Some newly opened lands were sold first-come, sold by bid, or won by lottery, or by means other than a run...
followed. Most of the 3,000 or so settlers came from the United States. A few were Loyalist, at least in spirit, but most simply wanted land and had no strong feeling about nationality. Many more immigrated from the British Isles, including Gaelic-speaking Scots.
English-speaking inhabitants remained a majority in the Townships until the 1870s. Even though the region is now predominantly French-speaking, the influence of the Loyalists
Loyalist (American Revolution)
Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...
and settlers from New England can still be observed in the architecture of older buildings and the names of various towns.
Heritage sites
Heritage siteHeritage site
A Heritage Site is a location designated as important to the cultural heritage of a governing body such as a township, county, province, state, or country. It is a non-moveable object such as a historic site or national monument, but it may include several sites grouped together such as...
s in the Eastern Townships include:
- Holy Trinity Anglican Church (Maple Grove, Quebec)Holy Trinity Anglican Church (Maple Grove, Quebec)Holy Trinity Anglican Church is a large historic Carpenter Gothic style Anglican church building located at 173 Gosford Road in the in village of Maple Grove in Irlande , near Thetford Mines in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada...
, near Thetford Mines
Notable natives and inhabitants
- Conrad BlackConrad BlackConrad Moffat Black, Baron Black of Crossharbour, OC, KCSG, PC is a Canadian-born member of the British House of Lords, and a historian, columnist and publisher, who was for a time the third largest newspaper magnate in the world. Lord Black controlled Hollinger International, Inc...
became the owner of his first newspaper, the Eastern Townships Advertiser, in 1966. - Jean CharestJean CharestJohn James "Jean" Charest, PC, MNA is a Canadian politician who has been the 29th Premier of Quebec since 2003. He was leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1993 to 1998 and has been leader of the Quebec Liberal Party since 1998....
, twenty-ninth Premier of QuebecPremier of QuebecThe Premier of Quebec is the first minister of the Canadian province of Quebec. The Premier is the province's head of government and his title is Premier and President of the Executive Council....
, was born in SherbrookeSherbrooke, QuebecSherbrooke is a Canadian city in southern Quebec. Sherbrooke is situated at the confluence of the Saint-François and Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality and census division of...
. - Muriel DuckworthMuriel DuckworthMuriel Helen Duckworth née Ball, CM, ONS was a Canadian pacifist, feminist and social and community activist. She was a practising Quaker, a religious denomination committed to non-violence. Duckworth maintained that war with its systematic violence against women and children is a major obstacle...
, pacifist and feminist, died in MagogMagog, QuebecMagog is a city in southeastern Quebec, Canada, about east of Montreal at the confluence of Lake Memphremagog--after which the city was named—with the Rivière aux Cerises and the Magog River...
. - Reginald FessendenReginald FessendenReginald Aubrey Fessenden , a naturalized American citizen born in Canada, was an inventor who performed pioneering experiments in radio, including early—and possibly the first—radio transmissions of voice and music...
, CanadianCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
inventor, was born in East Bolton. - Paul MartinPaul MartinPaul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
, Prime Minister of CanadaPrime Minister of CanadaThe Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
2003-2006, lives in BromeBrome, QuebecBrome is a village located in the Brome-Missisquoi Regional County Municipality of the Estrie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. The population as of the Canada 2006 Census was 278.-Population:Population trend-Language:...
. - Damian PettigrewDamian PettigrewDamian Pettigrew is a Canadian filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, author, and multimedia artist, best known for his cinematic portraits of Balthus and Federico Fellini...
, ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
-based Canadian film director, lives part-time on Lake Memphremagog. - Louis Stephen St. Laurent, Prime Minister of CanadaPrime Minister of CanadaThe Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
1948-1957, was born in ComptonCompton, QuebecCompton is a municipality in the regional county municipality of Coaticook and the administrative region of Estrie. And Home Of the world famous Sanders Farm and Vallons Maraichers farm, organic vegetable growers in the Deep Root Organic Cooperative of Vermont....
.
External links
- Tourism Eastern Townships
- Townships Heritage Society
- Townships Trail
- The United Empire Loyalists Association of Canada
- Gaelic Settlers of Eastern Townships of Quebec
- The Haldimand Collection, a major source of information regarding Loyalists settlements in Canada