Eastern Townships Resource Centre
2600 College St. J1M 1Z7 Sherbrooke, QC, Canada

In April, the ETRC is celebrating the arrival of spring by presenting a series of pictures featuring one of the season’s symbols: Flowers. Whether they are in a garden, a bouquet or in black and white pictures, they are always pretty. For this first week, this postal card is featuring the H. A. Norton's peony and lilac garden with Lake Massawippi in the background. The hundreds of varieties of flowers would even pique the curiosity of travellers coming from as far as the west coast of the United States. Fonds P020 - Eastern Townships Heritage Foundation fonds (ETRC P020-003-06-P075)

PHOTO OF THE WEEK In March, the ETRC is celebrating cars. Each week, we will look at the evolution of cars that used to ride around the Eastern Townships. For the last weef of this month, why not end our car journey with Canada’s first car! Created in Stanstead, this steam-powered buggy built by Henry Seth Taylor was created in 1867. Fonds P020 - Eastern Townships Heritage Foundation fonds (ETRC P020-003-06-P413)

Are you a teacher and you want your students to learn about local history? Have a look at our free educational materials for elementary and high school, available in French and English. For example: Agriculture - Dear Diary,... The beginning of the 19th century was characterized by extensive land clearing and subsistence farming in the Eastern Townships and approximately 85% of the population made their living like this. This learning situation aims to examine various archiva...l documents related to rural life of this time. Upon reading the diaries of 19th century farmers, students will reflect on the reality of these Townships' farmers and inhabitants. For more information: http://www.etrc.ca/education

Friday is podcast day and with that we conclude our first series of episodes. It has been such a pleasure to make you available "Discover your Past". In this last episode, our host and Bishop's University student Jaclyn Kaller will talk about the origins of Bishops University. We hope you enjoyed our podcast and we are looking forward to be back with season 2. Great thanks also to all the team members who made this project possible: Bishop's University student & Bishop's Toast Radio producer Lawrence Belanger for the production, Jaclyn Kaller for giving Townships' History a voice and Fabian Will from Eastern Townships Resource Centre for the coordination of the project. This podcast has been made possible through generous funding by the Secretariat for Relations with English-Speaking Quebecers (SQREA).

It is still time to register for our annual colloquium on Friday and Saturday...

Today is podcast day and we are already at episode 9. In 1824, a land development company was founded in order to settle and develop Upper Canada. This Company was founded by John Galt under the name of the British American Land Company. In this episode you will discover the crucial impact the company had on the Eastern Townships of Quebec. Enjoy!

The turn of the 19th century was marked by a very slow economic development. Communication channels were lacking and access to foreign markets was impossible. In this episode of "Discover your past", you will join us on a journey to the very beginnings of economy in the Eastern Townships.

As the Estrie region moves into a red zone, the Archives Department will be closed to the public as of Thursday, for an indefinite period. Nonetheless, ETRC staff continues to work on fun new projects. If you have questions, research inquiries, or reproduction requests, we will be happy to serve you (from a distance!).

Don't miss tomorrow's new episode of our podcast "Discover your Past". This time our host and Bishop's University student Jaclyn Kaller will talk about teh emergence of the local economy in the Eastern Townships. Image: The Royal Corset Company at the Magog River. ETRC / P998-2014-D003-P011... This podcast has been made possible through generous funding by the Secretariat for Relations with English-Speaking Quebecers (SQREA). It has been produced in cooperation with Bishop's Toast Radio.

PHOTO OF THE DAY On this Remembrance Day 2020, we want to express our gratitude to the men and women who fought for our current liberties and safety. This picture, of an unidentified soldier during the Great War, is in honour of all the fallen ones that were never identified and now rest under with the mention of Unknown Soldiers. Lest we forget. Fonds P010 - 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles Association fonds (CA ETRC P010-015)

We are working on "Quebec's Eastern Townships, Part 2" at the moment, but we can't decide on the cover page. So why not ask those who are interested in Townships history. Which version is your favorite? Let us know in the comments or by liking the image. Thanks for your help!

PHOTO OF THE WEEK In November, the ETRC is paying homage to the men and women who served their country during the World Wars. This week's picture is James Wark (far right) with four of his fellow soldiers. He enlisted in May 1918. When he arrived in England, he was put in quarantine for preventive measures against the Spanish Flu for 28 days, making his training much longer, to the point that the war was coming to an end. He was sent back to Canada before he got to continental Europe. Fonds P234 - Wark family (Sherbrooke) fonds (ETRC P234-001-002-010)

Join us for our new episode of "Discover your Past". What are the roots and beginnings of the political life in the Eastern Townships? In this episode our host Jaclyn Kaller will talk about the emergence of a political landscape in our region.