Volume 13    Number 7    25 May 1983

Booth's Volume Depicts Townshipper's Tenacity

Prior to the proliferation in the latter half of the 19th century, the Eastern Townships was in near isolation economically.
 
The locks of navigable waterways forced the locals to rely on a totally inadequate system of roads, often easier to negotiate by sled in winter than by wagon in summer.
 
Populated for the most part by New England expatriates, the Townships looked at the continually expanding railway system south of the border with no small amount of envy.
 
The passion for the railway building, which overcame the population in the 1850s, culminated in the creation of one of the most densely developed areas in Canada's railway system.
 
In the first of a two volume set, J. Derek Booth, professor of geography at Bishop's University, examines this development through three railways; the Stanstead, Shefford and Chambly, the South Eastern and the Missisquoi and Black Rivers Valley.
 
Although none of these railways fully realized the aspirations of their founders, Mr. Booth has shown the great tenacity of the local population in overcoming considerable financial, political, and geographical problems.
 
Of particular interest to Canadian Pacific people is the story of the South Eastern Railway, which provided Canadian Pacific with a vital link between Montreal and New England and eventually formed a part of CP Rail's "Short Line" to Saint John, New Brunswick.
 
Dave Jones