The Railway changes the Laurentians
By Sandra Stock
Published in Porcupine No. 6 – Morin-Heights Historical Association 2004
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.
Although this rail line to St.Jérôme was still at some distance from the more northern pioneer settlements now known as St.Sauveur, Morin Heights and Ste. Adèle, it was an improvement. The first settlers (1830’s to 1850’s) had arrived on foot, usually following watercourses and guided in by Aboriginal trappers and/or government surveyors. The French speaking pioneers had come from the old seigneurial lands banking on the St. Lawrence – St. Eustache, Ste.Scholastique, et cetera. The English-speaking pioneers had come in, for the most part, by the Ottawa River route by barge from Montreal, landing at St.Andrew’s east (St.André est) and moving through Lachute, Lakefield, and Mille-Isles and later into Morin and Arundel. These were emigrants directly from Ireland with a few from England and Scotland as well, along with some Lower Canada (Quebec) born second generation settlers who wished to receive their own land grants in the new areas.
From the 1840’s to the coming of the railway into Morin Flats village in 1895, the first citizens of Morin Township lived in almost total isolation from the outside world in a difficult terrain with extreme winters, muddy springs, and generally harsh conditions. It was the same, if not worse, in the entire Laurentian area. The first cash crop of a sort was potash made from burning the trees in land clearance for agriculture. To take this to market, the pioneer had to walk to either Lachute or in St.Jérôme – even to Montreal in some rare instances that have been recorded. Not many settlers had horses to begin with as there was not enough clear land to grow the hay to feed large animals. Most of the farming was initially done by hand – with a hoe – and because of the rocky soil and short growing season, was limited anyway.
The first railway was later extended to Ste.Agathe and in 1892, the first train arrived at Piedmont, still eight miles from Morin, but certainly better than the thirty-mile trek to St.Jérôme. Around this time, rail service had also been expanded to the Lachute area. There was even a grand plan to strike out across the northern regions to Winnipeg in the west from Lac St.Jean in the east, passing through wilderness and ‘opening it up’ on the way.
In 1890 another company, the Montfort Colonization Railway, was formed, later know as the Great Northern Railway and later, Canadian National Railways. At first, the line, which reached Morin Flats in 1895, and to Arundel and Huberdeau a few years later, was accessed at a spot called Montfort Junction. The first Montfort Junction was outside St.Jérôme, where a transfer could be made from the Montreal-St.Jérôme line, now called the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, and subsequently, after that line was extended to Piedmont, the ‘Montfort Junction’ site was located there. An old CPR railway map of the Laurentian area from 1911 still places the ‘Montfort Junction’ near St.Jérôme although the transfer spot had moved north by then. This met the CNR line through to St.Sauveur, Morin Flats and Huberdeau, which is clearly marked as well. Ultimately, the Canadian National tracks went on to St.Rémi d’Amherst (Lac Rémi) and the Canadian Pacific extended much farther north to Mont Laurier.
By the 1890’s the economy of the Lower Laurentians had developed considerably from substance farming and potash production. The lumber industry was at its peak throughout the Ottawa Valley and northern Quebec regions. Also, there were a few mines briefly attempted in the Laurentians – mica at St.Rémi, for example. Also, there are granite quarries around Rockway Valley, close to Arundel. The main intention for the railways had been to exploit and transport natural resources out of the district. However, to the probable surprise of the railway owners, the main source of revenue for the longest time turned out to be transporting vacationers into the newly accessible lands. Freight, especially lumber and later milled wood products, was always important, and the rail service was predictable and reliable even in the worse winter weather. Yet it was the rise of the tourist trade that brought the Laurentian communities into the mainstream of modern life.
The first areas to be viewed as, at first summer only, retreats from the city stresses of Montreal, were those places closest in distance: Shawbridge being the prime example It is no accident that Alex Foster invented the very first ski tow in Canada in Shawbridge, around 1930. Although Nordic (cross-country) skiing was already wildly popular in the region, this development of downhill skiing with its attendant resorts really led to the expansion of the Laurentian tourist industry. There were still no really good all-season roads and motorcars were to remain a rarity until well into the 1950’sé This was still very much a railway dependent area. Local transport remained sleigh in winter and cart in summer for a large part of the Laurentians.
The ski trains themselves were seen as part of this growing tourist culture, not just as a means of transport. The cars were adapted for the carrying of skis – awkward sports equipment to say the least – and social life revolved around the weekend trips from Montreal. The arrival of the train was an event. In Morin Heights (name changed in 1911 to encourage tourists) a local industry had grown from the train – boarding houses for summer and winter vacationers, horse and sleigh or horse and cart taxis to and from the station, and eventually such economic offshoots as bars, restaurants, real hotels, downhill ski tows and second home rentals. The ski industry had also brought new skilled people to the Laurentians – many of them German, Swiss, and later Scandinavians, who had expertise in the resold and skiing fields.
As time passed and the social and economic changes of the twentieth century finally spread to Quebec in general and to the Laurentians in particular, the railways became an unprofitable and even obsolete means of communication. In a sense they had created their own demise by bringing easy contact with the wider world to the small outposts of settlement in the north. The resource-based economy of family farms and lumber mills couldn’t continue with mechanized agriculture and changing industrial requirements. Even the thriving tourist trade was changing with the improved road system and the now common ownership of family autos. By the 1960’s , especially after the construction of the Laurentian Autoroute, skiers and other potential tourists could drive to St.Sauveur in forty-five minutes and to Ste.Agathe in just over an hour from Montreal. The need for overnight accommodation was greatly reduced and the need for passenger trains virtually disappeared. The last train into Morin Heights was in May 1962. By the 1970’s, there were no more trains of any sort in the Lower Laurentians and the removal of the tracks had begun.
As the nature of the economic and social life of the Laurentians changed, different communities have responded to the post-railway period in various ways. Some, like St.Jerome, Lachute, and even Ste.Agathe farther north, have continued as small cities servicing their wider areas and having an urban level of development. Some, like St.Sauveur, have grown into world class resorts, no longer maintaining a really rural atmosphere. Some, like Val David, have encouraged artistic and cultural development. Others, like Morin Heights, Montfort, or Mille Isles have in many ways declined – losing their former hotels and small tourist-oriented businesses. However, these less ‘developed’ municipalities have begun to stress environmental awareness and the preservation of a rural lifestyle as opposed to becoming bland, distant suburbs of Montreal.
The old railway tracks of the Canadian National have become the Aerobic Corridor for non-motorized sports – cross country skiing in winter and hiking in summer. A similar, although somewhat more intensively developed, fate has arisen from the former Canadian Pacific tracks between st.Jérôme and Mont Laurier. The legacy of the railway has managed to be reborn into a new age of eco-tourism. This trend will hopefully continue and grow in the lower Laurentians. Sources : Morin Heights, 1855-1955, Laura Nesbitt, Morin Heights, 1855-1980 J.F. Trenholme, Skiing Legends and the Laurentian Lodge Club, Neil and Catharine McKenty, 2000, The Porcupine No.4, Morin Heights Historical Association, 2001, ‘Recollections of a Railway Mann’ Mike Lavendel and ‘Friday Night Trains’ Rowen Blair. Map of the Laurentian Branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway in the Province of Quebec, 1911.