Starting in the 1870’s, the isolation of the settlements in the lower Laurentians slowly began to end with the establishment of a railway line from Montreal to St.Jerôme. This first link, called the Montreal and Occidental, was part of the ambitious northern Quebec development schemes of the energetic Curé Labelle. However, it was also a not unexpected aspects of the spirit of the Victorian age in Canada. The creation of our country in 1867 had hinged upon the famous sea-to-sea railway that would facilitate economic progress and centralized political union.
