Up until the 1840s, the bridge in Sherbrooke was the only one across the St. Francis River. Like many rivers in the Eastern Townships, the St. Francis was crossed by means of ferries at villages situated along its course. Such was the case in Richmond until the first bridge was erected there.
The 19th century saw a massive railway boom all across the Eastern Townships. Driven by the need to access raw materials, the desire for rapid transit, and a mania to build more and more branch lines, companies vied for territory and markets. By 1900, a network of local and regional railway lines crisscrossed virtually every corner of the region.
Le 19e siècle a connu un important boom des voies ferrées partout dans les Cantons-de-l'Est. Poussées par la nécessité d'accéder aux matières premières, par le désir d'un transit rapide et par la frénésie de construire de plus en plus d'embranchements, les compagnies se disputaient le territoire et les marchés.
For many years roads in the Eastern Townships were primitive and impassable to wheeled traffic for most of year. Travel on horseback, by sleigh in winter or on foot, were the norm. People going to market could drive their animals or carry their goods by oxen, but travel was slow.
Le premier traversier commercial sur le lac Memphrémagog, "Copp's Ferry", et certainement l'un des premiers dans les Cantons-de-l'Est, appartenait à Moses Copp et mouillait sur les berges du village au nom très approprié de Copp's Ferry (devenu Georgeville).
The first commercial ferry on Lake Memphremagog, and certainly one of the first in the Eastern Townships, was Moses Copp's ferry, in the aptly-named village of Copp's Ferry (later Georgeville). About 1797, shortly after his arrival in the area, Copp built a scow, which operated by manpower (oars) between the east and west sides of the lake.
Les premiers pionniers ne trouvèrent aucune route. Ils furent plutôt confrontés à des forêts vierges. Pour se frayer un chemin, ils durent abattre des arbres, traverser des marais ou patauger dans des cours d'eau.
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. They travelled in winter from New England, because snowshoes and a laden sled required a narrower path than an ox cart, and because they could save time by travelling over frozen lakes and rivers.
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. Both stretched on either side of the international border, partly in Canada and partly in the United States.
The early routes travelled by the Abenaki Indians of the Eastern Townships included the big lakes, like Memphremagog, Champlain, and Massawippi, and rivers, such as the St. Francis and the Missisquoi. The Abenakis used birch bark canoes as well as dugout canoes made from single logs.