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.
One of the most important men to arrive in a pioneer community was the blacksmith. The term "blacksmith" is derived from the words "black", meaning black metal, and "smite", meaning to strike hard. The blacksmith performed a number of services vital to the community, the primary one being to keep horses' hooves in good condition.
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.
Because of the harsh climate that the settlers encountered, the location of their first shelter was paramount. Building materials were not a problem in the dense virgin forest. The first shelter that was built was usually a crude and cramped log cabin. It was built of newly felled trees, which were still covered with bark.