Industries

In its infancy, hydroelectric power in the Eastern Townships was in the hands of a variety of small, local companies.

Beginning in the 1850s, the Eastern Townships were the centre of a massive "copper rush". One of the first copper mines in the area was in Leeds Township. Immense deposits were soon discovered in Acton, Bolton, and most important of all, Ascot, where rich concentrations of copper ore (and sulphur) were discovered in 1859.

Stanstead’s local indigenous stone, and the mainstay of the local economy, is a variety of granite most often referred to as “Stanstead grey.” Stanstead grey has been quarried and worked in and around Beebe (which is now a part of Stanstead) for generations. But what exactly is this durable stone?

In the early years of settlement, farmers had to make their own shoes, harnesses, and other leather necessities. When a cow died, the farmer and his wife would scrape, cure, and stretch the hide. The leather could then be used for making everything from patches for mending clothing to door hinges.

When tanneries began to appear in villages, the nasty chore of curing cowhides was not one that was widely missed by many people.

An animal that was essential to the settlers was the sheep, whose fleece could be used to produce wool. On the farms each spring, sheep would be sheared and the wool washed of its natural grease and dirt, combed, and finally carded. Carding was the untangling of the fibres. Hand cards were used.

The first settlers who were granted land in the Eastern Townships promised to build grist mills and roads within the first two years of settlement. There were few people more important to a settlement than the miller. The village mill was the link between farm and industry.

While workers elsewhere were suffering the work shortages and poverty of the worst part of the Great Depression, the "Three Villages" in the early 1930s were enjoying full employment.

The first trade in the Eastern Townships was the making of potash. It was found that North American ashes contained a larger percentage of pure potash than those of the Baltic region. Consequently, there was a steady demand for potash. Potash was used to clear the sand in the manufacture of glass.

The railway had an enormous impact on the economy and on life in general in the Eastern Townships. One English settler described it best in a letter to his grandfather back in England: