The nineteenth and early twentieth centuries saw a huge railway boom across the Eastern Townships. It was driven by the need to access raw materials, a desire for quick transportation, the growth of industry, and a mania to build more and more branch lines. Literally dozens of railway companies competed for territory and markets.
The nineteenth and early twentieth centuries saw a huge railway boom across the Eastern Townships. It was driven by the need to access raw materials, a desire for quick transportation, the growth of industry, and a mania to build more and more branch lines. Literally dozens of railway companies competed for territory and markets.
Before modern roads, traveling by water was often more efficient than traveling by land. Steamers of various sizes and capacities played an important role on a number of lakes in the Eastern Townships. They carried supplies and mail, and hauled logs to local sawmills. They also carried passengers -- more often than not guests at lakeside hotels, cottagers and excursionists.
Sir Casimir Gzowski, great-grandfather of Canadian broadcaster Peter Gzowski, and engineer for the St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railway, forerunner to the Grand Trunk, built this trestle over the St. Francis River at the north end of Richmond in 1852.
Austin Roy, Grade 5 (Ms. Louise Smith), Heroes' Memorial School, Cowansville
In the 1800s railways were needed in the Eastern Townships to get to raw materials, for fast travel, the growth of businesses, and to fill in the desire to build more railway lines.
Mail delivery in the Eastern Townships dates to about 1800. At that early date, virtually all of the settlers in the region were recent arrivals from New England.
