This locality was born thanks to the coming of the railroad
in Stanbridge Township, the nineteenth such township to be created
in Lower Canada.
A township is to the English colonies what the Seigneuries were
under the French Regime when it came time to organize and distribute
tracts of land amongst settlers.
The division of lots in Stanbridge Township was ordered in 1801.
Situated on the axis of the migration North by Loyalists and
Americans from Lake Champlain area, the township was quickly
inhabited. And so it happened that by 1893, 480 settlers had
chosen this area to begin their new life.
Back in the 1800s, road transportation in the Eastern Townships
was rudimentary at best. Construction of the railroad in the
second half of the 19th century changed all that, giving the
region, and Stanbridge Township in particular, a long awaited
economic boost.
‘Station towns’ materialized along with the advent
of the railroad. These small focal points proved to be vital
components for the distribution of mail and merchandise as well
as rallying centres for city travellers from afar. Stanbridge
Station was one of those stations on the Montreal & Vermont
Junction railroad line built in 1867. Furthermore, the line obtained
the exclusive train transportation rights between Montreal and
the United States – a privilege held until the foreclosure
of Central Vermont.
The turn of the century registered an important demographic
decline in the Eastern Townships, bringing along the progressive
demise of this regional railroad network. If Stanbridge Station
lost its initial raison d’être, it stands
nevertheless today as a proud vestige of the prosperous era of
the industrial revolution within Missisquoi County. And the region
stands tall and dignified as it upholds the legacy of our ancestors,
be it in agriculture, dairy farming or fruit growing.
Source: Stanbridge Station; 1889 –1989, Corporation Municipale
de Stanbridge Station (1988)
Data :
Incorporation: March 21, 1889
Territory: 18 112 km2
Population: 385
Administrative: Montérégie
Electoral County – Québec: Brome-Missisquoi
Cencus Division - Canada: Brome-Missisquoi
City Hall
229, chemin Principal
Stanbridge Station
J0J 2J0
(450) 248-2125
