Transportation

(Continued from Steamers of Lake Memphremagog, Part 2)

Up until the 1840s, the bridge in Sherbrooke was the only one across the St. Francis River.

The 19th century saw a massive railway boom all across the Eastern Townships.

For many years roads in the Eastern Townships were primitive and impassable to wheeled traffic for most of year.

The first settlers found no roads. They came to a land of virgin forest. They had to blaze their own trails, and find their way around swamps and over streams.

The major lakes and rivers provided the only way to travel in the Eastern Townships before the area was opened for settlement. The two major lakes were Champlain and Memphremagog.