Local History

The French Regime:

The history of the Eastern Townships begins with the Abenakis, who, according to oral tradition, had a number of villages in the region. The Abenakis used the region's forests and waterways for hunting, fishing, trade, and travel.

The southeast corner of the province of Quebec is home to the region known as the Eastern Townships. The region is famous across Canada and internationally for its scenic beauty and history.

Opened in 1929 at the dawn of the talking movie, the Granada Theatre in downtown Sherbrooke is one of Canada’s most beautiful atmospheric theatres. With its sumptuous interior decorated with tromp l’oeil Mediterranean scenes, it was a popular venue for both movies and live entertainment.

Édifice érigé délibérément sur la ligne frontalière du Québec et du Vermont, à la mémoire de Carlos Freeman Haskell (1824-1865) par son épouse, Martha Stewart Haskell (1831-1906) et son fils, le colonel Horace Stewart Haskell (1860-1940), entre 1901 et 1904, la Bibliothèque et Opéra Haskell desservait la population de Derby Line (USA), Rock-Island et Stanstea

Le voyage inaugural du Lucania annonce une carrière remplie de succès. Parti de Liverpool le 2 septembre 1893, il rejoint New York le 9. Le New York Times du lendemain s’empresse de vanter les exploits du Cunarder qui a accompli le trajet en 5 jours, 15 heures et 37 minutes, soit 1 heure et 13 minutes de moins que le City of Paris de l’American Line.

The towns hug the river bank along the St. Francis. It almost doesn't matter what direction one takes to come to this once bustling railroad community -- the view from the hills as the traveller approaches Richmond or Melbourne is spectactular.

There's more than meets the eye at the Archives of the Missisquoi Historical Society.

The letter was addressed to Mrs. N. Nicholson, Richmond, Quebec. It read: "Dear Mrs. Nicholson. Do you feel that breakfast seems incomplete without a bread of some sort? Just break open a biscuit made with Crisco." This was ad copy, I realized, despite the header "Mac Rae Bros. Pure Food Products." "Notice its sweet appetizing aroma.

(Continued from Tighsolas: House of Light, Part 1: An Intimate Glimpse into the World of a Turn-of-the-Century Townships Family)

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