To mark 50 years of the Stanstead Historical Society Journal, the Colby-Curtis Museum in Stanstead, Quebec recently released the book, A Sense of Place: The Imprint of the 19th and Early 20th Century on Stanstead County, a selection of articles published in the journal.
The book takes the reader from the Abenaki occupation of the land through a century and a half of migrations and settlement, leading to the formation of a unique, culturally and linguistically diverse, borderland community in the in southern Quebec, close to the Vermont border.
Almost all of the articles are written in English, with about half a dozen in French.
Towns in the former Stanstead County include Magog, Ayer’s Cliff, Georgeville, Fitch Bay, Boynton, Griffin’s Corner, Stanstead Plain, Rock Island, Hatley, North Hatley, Massawippi, Coaticook, Barnston, Way’s Mills, Drew’s Mills and Baldwin’s Mills.
Table of Contents
Migration and Settlement
A Borderland
Laying the Foundations
A Diversity of Faiths
Time for Schools
The Development of a Community Life
A Sense of Place
Stanstead County in Times of Conflict
Contributors to the journal include several familiar people, such as historian Desmond Morton and writer/filmmaker Louise Abbott.
The book is available in hardcover ($58.95) and soft ($28.95), and can be ordered online from the Colby-Curtis Museum website where you can also look at the detailed table of contents. Note shipping charges are extra.
Really looking forward to going to the Colby-Curtis museum to do a presentation on the British Home Children on May 6 after having been invited by the Stanstead Historical Society! Very interesting part of our country! Thanks for posting.
The Eastern Townships should be especially beautiful in May.
Thanks for sharing this. The family farm in North Hatley now owned by my cousins is celebrating 150 years in 2017. We’ll have to get a few copies for the reunion.
Excellent timing for your family reunion. Did you notice the Fonds and oral histories on the Colby-Curtis Museum website? While your family may not be named in the title, it is possible they are mentioned within the collections.