The Eastern Townships was opened up for settlement by the British in the early 1790's. The more southerly regions tended to be settled primarily by Americans from the New England states, the more northern regions by immigrants from the British Isles. A wave of French-Canadian settlers swept into the region in the 1840s and by the 1871 census French-Canadians made up the majority of the population of the Townships. As the population of the Townships grew, place names, county names and the groupings of townships within counties changed. As I mentioned Notre-Dame-des-Bois was originally known as Chesham, named after an English market town in Buckinghamshire, England. The first settlers were gold prospectors who were quickly replaced by French-Canadian colonists, many of whom had emigrated to the United States. A few arrived from France and Belgium. Then in 1871, François-Xavier Dufresne arrived, clear-cut three acres of land and established a blacksmith shop. Considered the village’s founder, Monsieur Vaillant built the first sawmill. The Repatriation Act, signed in 1875, was a positive force for the colonizing of Chesham and in October 1876, the population grew to 636 souls. They celebrated their first mass there that year. Services were held around a large rock that served as an altar, then later in a small chapel where a statue of the Virgin Mary was erected. This inspired the name of the parish and later the municipality. The town was incorporated on January 1, 1877, and given the name Notre-Dame-des-Bois on April 26 in honour of the Virgin Mary. Marie and I have since added 2 more to the present booming population of 994!
A short hike from our property, near the base of the marble mountains that form the New Hampshire and Maine borders, is a route (Sentiers frontaliers) consisting of 134 km of walking trails that lead you to the mountain peaks – 1100 metres in height with breathtaking scenery. The trail will eventually cross the US border to hook up with the Cohos Trail in New Hampshire. We have hiked up there a few times and sat on the border between the two countries enjoying our lunch, and the views! Recently (in September 2008), the Route des Sommets was inaugurated, 157 km of highway crossing 15 municipalities. It starts at La Patrie (just 15 km west of us) and Notre-Dame-des Bois and winds through forests that are now displaying fall's vibrant colours. (Fall arrives early up here!) The route climbs the granite mountains of the Appalachian chain and meanders through picturesque valleys where you will see dairy, cattle and sheep farms, deer and the occassional mother moose and her calf. We have seen a few moose this past summer around our property yet never seem to have a camera with us when we meet!
From our place we are about a half hour drive to the major town in the area, Lac-Mégantic. Megantic means 'place where fishes are held' in Native American language (Abenakis). Lac-Mégantic has a population of less than 7000 but has all the comforts of big city living we have grown used to over the years - a Tim Hortons, a Wal-Mart, a Canadian Tire and a fairly large hospital! The town derives its name from the adjacent lake, a beautiful,12-mile long body of water running north-south that in summer is dotted with sailboats, located on the municipality's southern boundary. Although the railway, as in most small Canadian communities we have lived in and left, has declined in recent decades, Lac-Mégantic is still an important lumbering and farming centre. The big tourist draw here, of course, is the Astrolab observatory atop Mont-Mégantic park, the most powerful in Canada! The Observatoire du Mont Mégantic is owned and operated jointly by the Université de Montréal and the Université Laval. Founded in 1978, it is the largest observatory in eastern Canada, and is situated at the summit of Mont Mégantic, the highest point of the province of Québec to be accessible by car. As I have mentioned in previous blogs the region was recognized as the first International Dark Sky Reserve by the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) in September of 2007, a world-wide initiative which preserves the starry sky. We are in this region that has an exceptional quality of starry nights, including the city of Sherbrooke (40 minutes drive to the west of us). The municipalities help support dark sky values by correcting excessive and upward-pointing night lighting, something we have to consider when we build as well. While mainly intended to protect the view of the stars for the observatory atop Mont Mégantic, the reserve designation also allows anyone to see a truly dark sky streaked with the Milky Way and other delights such as the Seven Sisters. Most clear nights when we are up at the cabin Marie and I sit outside by the fire and are always amazed at the clarity and expanse of the universe above us.The Milky Way especially is awe- inspiring here - and you feel like you can reach up at touch it.
From the following pictures of the area you will see why we chose to retire and build our home in this lovely part of Quebec. Come one, come all you are always welcome to visit...
Observatoire du Mont Mégantic
The Saddle
Notre-Dame-des-Bois eglise
Notre-Dame-des-Bois
View of NH and Maine from atop Mt Megantic
Mt Megantic
One of the gravel roads somewhere in the Domaine
Lac Megantic lake
Lac Megantic town
a typical view from the Domaine
Mt Megantic
Now as the cool winds of October move in from the north and the leaves began to fall I start to think about the next five months of cold and snow that is sure to come. We will visit our cabin a few more times before spring, snowshoeing up our road and probably sweeping snow from the shed roofs. It will be as still as ever in the woods and the snow will be crisscrossed with the tracks of rabbits, deer and fox, and the occasional moose. But before then we have to enjoy the delights of autumn, the colours and smells only one can find in these northern climes. Hockey season has begun for real this week and the rabid fans of this city are already flocking to their favourite watering holes to follow their beloved Habs. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving Day (Columbus Day) yesterday and come back again soon! gws
