History Articles

1) Which of the following is NOT a borough of the City of Sherbrooke?
a) Fleurimont
b) Waterville
c) Rock Forest

2) In which Sherbrooke borough may be found Uplands Heritage and Cultural Centre?
a) Vieux Sherbrooke
b) Lennoxville
c) Brompton

3) Which of the following was a former name of Sherbrooke?
a) Little Forks
b) Little Hyatt
c) Hyatt’s Mills

4) After whom is Sherbrooke named?
a) Sir John Coape Sherbrooke
b) Lord Dufferin of Sherbrooke
c) Lord Sherbrooke of Dufferin

1) b (originally Waterville was scheduled to be a part of Greater Sherbrooke, but plans were changed following protests from Waterville).

2) b.

3) c (Big Forks was another former name).

4) a.

5) a.

6) b (the Grand Trunk was based in Montreal and there was no such thing as the Sherbrooke Railroad and Telegraph Company).

7) c (there was no such railway).

8) b.

9) c.

10) b.

1) What is the former name of the town of Magog?
a) Magog Crossing
b) The Outlet
c) Cherry River
d) Merry's Corners
e) Saint-Patrice-de-Memphré

2) Which of the following municipalities does NOT border Lake Memphremagog?
a) Ogden
b) Bolton-Est
c) Austin
d) Saint-Benoît-du-Lac
e) Fitch Bay

1.
b) The Outlet.

2.
e) Fitch Bay is a village, but not a municipality.

3.
e) All of the above.

4.
b) A covered bridge.

5.
c) O Canada. The English version of Canada's national anthem was composed in Cedarville by Judge Robert Stanley Weir.

6.
b) Memphremagog House.

7.
b) An outdoor Masonic Lodge meeting. Each summer Masons hold a special convocation atop Mount Owl's Head.

8.
b) Lighthouses.

9.
a) The Magog River (hint: see question #1)

10.
b) Orford.

1. Which town in the Eastern Townships takes its name from a Roman Catholic pope?
a) Bishopton
b) Piopolis
c) Saint-Romain

2. The name "Nigger Rock," derogatory in nature, but very old, refers to what?
a) A point on Lake Champlain said to have been a landing site for runaway slaves from the American South.
b) The auction block in Sherbrooke where slaves were sold before the abolition of slavery in the British colonies in 1831.
c) An old slave burial ground near Saint-Armand.

1. b) Piopolis, on the western shore of Lake Megantic. A number of Papal Zouaves were among the first settlers in this area. The Zouaves were Catholic soldiers recruited to defend Rome and Pope Pius IX (1846-1878) against the armies of Garibaldi.
2. c) An old slave burial ground near Saint-Armand, the site of a once sizeable black community. The name "Nigger Rock" is officially recognized by the Quebec Toponymy Commission.
3. c) Frelighsburg. The term "Slab City" is said to have come from the large quantities of "slabs" of wood found in the village.

1. Billy Connor was the first person to accomplish which aquatic feat?
a) Diving to the bottom of Lake Massawippi
b) Kayaking the St. Francis River all the way from Sherbrooke to the St. Lawrence
c) Swimming the length of Lake Memphremagog

2. Who built Canada's first gasoline powered automobile?
a) Henry Seth Taylor
b) Frank Sleeper
c) George Foote Foss

1. c) William Francis (Billy) Connor was the first to swim Lake Memphremagog (or at least the 40 km stretch from Newport, Vermont to Magog, Quebec). He accomplished this feat in August of 1955 in 18.5 hours. Many people are familiar with the more recent "Traversée internationale du lac Memphrémagog," which has taken place every summer since 1979 between Newport and Magog.

2. c) George Foote Foss, of Sherbrooke, in 1897.

3. a) Reginald Fessenden, in 1900. (Guglielmo Marconi had sent the first wireless messages by Morse Code).

1) What was the Abenaki name for the place later known as Sherbrooke?
a) Ktinékétolékouac (meaning "big forks")
b) Ktouchibouguic (meaning "big place")
c) Ktiketkineketouakic (meaning "big place to party")

2) In whose honour is Bishop's University in Lennoxville named?
a) Billy Bishop, the famous World War I fighting ace
b) George J. Mountain, the 3rd Anglican Bishop of Quebec
c) John J. Bishop, a pioneer educator

1) a; 2) b; 3) b; 4) a; 5) c; 6) b; 7) a; 8) a La Tribune (1910); Orchestre symphonique de Sherbrooke (1939); Université de Sherbrooke (1954); 9) b; 10) b