- Eastern Townships
The Eastern Townships (French: "Cantons de l'Est") is a historical region in south-eastern
Quebec , lying between the former seigneuries south of theSaint Lawrence River and theUnited States border. Its northern boundary roughly followed theLogan Line , the geologic boundary between the flat, fertile St. Lawrence Lowlands and the Appalacian Mountains. The region comprises counties that were originally divided into townships after the traditional method ofland grant s of the originalNew England andNew York settlers. Earlier French settlement along theSaint Lawrence River had divided the landscape intoparishes and Seigneuries. A tourist region of the same name now covers most of the region, as does an administrative entity officially calledEstrie . Boundaries are slightly different for each region. The principal cities are Sherbrooke, Granby, Magog, and Cowansville. The towns of Drummondville, Victoriaville, and Thetford Mines are part of the historical region, but not part of the tourist or administrative regions. The region has summer colonies used by vacationingMontreal ers and several ski resorts, including beingMount Orford ,Bromont , Mount Sutton, and Owl's Head.Demographics
*Population: 300,917 (2005)
*Area: 10,195 km²
*Density: 29.2 /km² [http://www.stat.gouv.qc.ca Institut de la statistique du Québec]The area contains 41,000 predominately English speaking inhabitants, a minority in the community. [cite book | author = |title = (byline) | publisher = The Outlet | month = August | year = 2007]
The area has been described as "populated by well-heeled cottagers and gentlemen farmers." [http://www.thestar.com/special/article/190670 The Star] accessed March 15, 2008]
Counties
The Eastern Townships originally consisted of the following counties:
* Arthabaska County
* Brome County
* Compton County
* Drummond County
* Frontenac County
* Megantic County
* Missisquoi County
* Richmond County
* Stanstead County
* Shefford County
* Sherbrooke County
* Wolfe CountyIn the early 1990s Quebec was reorganized into 17 official regions divided into regional county municipalities. The bulk of the Eastern Townships became theEstrie region (which is often called "les Cantons de l'est" in French), but Arthabaska, Drummond, and part of Wolfe and Megantic counties became part of theCentre-du-Québec region, the remainder of Megantic County became part of theChaudière-Appalaches region, and part of Shefford and Missisquoi counties became part of theMontérégie region.History
The first inhabitants of the region were the Abenaki Indians. This can be observed by the different names of towns, lakes and rivers which many are of Abenaki origin. They allied themselves with the French during the
Seven Years' War to fight the British.The region was part of
New France until the1763 Treaty of Paris which granted the region to the British. Shortly after theAmerican Revolution , a fewUnited Empire Loyalists , who fled the revolution in order to stay loyal to the British Crown, settled in the Eastern Townships. The land there was controlled by three English seigneurs:Colonel Henry Caldwell had purchased what had been theFoucault Seigneurie , which ran along theRichelieu River and a little over the present day frontier; Colonel Gabriel Christie was seigneur of Noyan; andThomas Dunn was seigneur of Saint-Armand. The early loyalists settled in and around Missisquoi Bay. A popular misconception is that there was a huge influx of Loyalists to the Eastern Townships. In fact most of the immigration fom New England happened in the early nineteenth century, thirty or so years after the Revolution. Most were farmers seeking new lands, something the townships had to offer.Some Loyalists had moved to the area during the Revolutionary War. When it ended
Sir Frederick Haldimand , the governor of Quebec, expected them to move westward with the rest of the Loyalists. He cut off the rations the government had been providing. However, they resisted efforts to be moved by force and were finally permitted to stay by Lieutenant GovernorHenry Hamilton after Haldimand's return to England.refThe status of the East Townships Loyalists was resolved when the seigneurs agreed to permit them to stay on their land for a nominal fee. The exact number cannot be ascertained, but a petition they sent to the governor included 378 names. Allowing for a family of five, this could suggest a population of about 1600 or so. The land they settled on, the present-day area of Noyan, Clarenceville and St. Armand, was not part of the Eastern Townships (which were not opened to settlement until 1791), but have since been regarded as part of the Townships.
Under the terms of the
Constitutional Act of 1791 , the Eastern Townships were open to settlement and a land rush followed. Most of the 3,000 or so settlers came from the United States. A few were Loyalist, at least in spirit, but most simply wanted land and had no strong feeling about nationality. Many more immigrated from the British Isles, including Gaelic-speaking Scots.English-speaking inhabitants remained a majority in the Townships until the 1870s. Even though the region is now predominantly French speaking, the influence of the Loyalists and settlers from New England can still be observed in the architecture of older buildings and the names of various towns.
Heritage sites
Heritage site s in the Eastern Townships include:
*Holy Trinity Anglican Church (Maple Grove, Quebec) , nearThetford Mines Notable natives and inhabitants
*
Conrad Black - in 1966 became the owner of his first newspaper, the Eastern Townships Advertiser. [http://www.thestar.com/special/article/190670 The Star] accessed March 15, 2008]
*Reginald Fessenden (October 6 ,1866 –July 22 ,1932 ), Canadian inventor, was born in East BoltonFootnotes
External links
* [http://www.easterntownships.org/index.php?xtor=AL-112 Tourism Eastern Townships]
* [http://www.townshipsheritage.com/ Townships heritage society]
* [http://www.townshipstrail.qc.ca Townships Trail]
* [http://www.uelac.org/ The United Empire Loyalists Association of Canada]
* [http://www.hebrides.ca/ Gaelic Settlers of Eastern Townships of Quebec]
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