Geology
The Orford Arts Centre is situated in the Appalachians. This chain of mountains was born almost 500 millions years ago by the collision of two ancient continents: Laurentia (known today as North America) and Amazonia (Africa). These mountains are made up of the earth’s crust, oceanic crust, and the intrusion of magma – all of which gives the area its geographical richness.
At the time of their formation, the Appalachians were almost as high as the Himalayas. Since that time, erosion has significantly whittled them down. One of the major causes of erosion was the world’s last glacial period. A little over 10,000 years ago, a glacial cap covered a large part of Canada. During the considerable rapid thaw that followed, the draining water took with it much of the loose stone and debris and reshaping the land on its way out.
We can observe in the Artistic Path an erratic landscape, an abandoned vestige by the retreating glacier. The enormous quantity of water the thaw created provoked the formation of an interior sea, the Champlain Sea. This sea once covered a large part of Quebec, but ultimately led to the discovery of the Appalachians. Part of the Sea is still around today as Lake Champlain.
Boston Road
In 1791, during the creation of Upper and Lower Canada, the Eastern Townships became colonised. The territories along the Saint-Lawrence River were becoming more and more overpopulated, so colonies from the northeastern United States, England, and Ireland, founded the hamlets that have today become the cities and villages of the area. The town of Cherry River is one of the remaining traces of this colonization.
A fleet of stagecoaches once transported goods from Boston to Quebec. The territory of the MRC of Memphrémagog was a transition point between the United States and Quebec. Three large stagecoach routes ran across the territory.
On the site of the Orford Arts Centre we can still find the remnants of Boston Road, inaugurated in 1824, that united Boston and Montréal. Furthermore, in Mount Orford Park, the ancient groundwork can still be seen. In fact, the first routes were only used in the winter and ran on the frozen surfaces of lakes and streams. At the beginning of 1830 the road network improved, and thusly started the construction of service buildings that included stables, inns, saddleries, etc.
