The two main routes immigrants used to enter the Eastern Townships were through the port cities of either Quebec City or New York. Both routes required lengthy boat journeys followed by rough stagecoach rides over unstable roads. Immigrants were far from impressed with their new homes after the incredibly difficult expedition into the Eastern Townships that often left settlers shaken and ill. The condition of the roads led settlers to believe that communication with others would not be easy, nor would making a living through produce trade. In order to maintain and improve the number of settlers in the region, improvements had to be made to the transportation system.

Transportation in the Eastern Townships during the pre-railway era, from 1793 to 1860, relied exclusively on the numerous and complex waterways of the region as well as some basic roads that resembled rough trails through the wilderness. Canoes and steamboats were employed for water travel while stagecoaches, wagons and sleighs were the only alternatives to walking great distances on land. The ineffectiveness of these methods of transportation hindered the settlement of the Eastern Townships as well as the economic development of the area.

Roads

The first types of roads in the Eastern Townships that were not forest paths were mostly horse trails that could only be traveled on by horseback or by foot. Wagons and stagecoaches were not able to penetrate the region until colonists cut down trees and bushes for settlement purposes. These roads were rough with deep trenches and were covered with rocks and stones, tree stumps and fallen trees and they were not wide enough to allow two wagons to pass in different directions at the same time. Many accidents occurred on the roads as well as on the bridges, which were constructed at first by loose planks and stagecoaches traveled through water and mud and often had to be carried over many gaps. Due to these conditions roads were used seasonally as like the waterways, they were more suitable and favorable for travel in the winter as oxen and wagons were used to pack down the snow and sleighs were used for traveling on the smooth surface. Spring brought sticky mud and floods to the roads and this left the settlers feeling stranded in their own region and doctors and priests were not easily accessible due to these problems.

One of the major problems in the building of roads in the Eastern Townships had to do with the mountainous topography of the region. Steep roads were constructed on mountains, wet roads were built on marshland and bridges spanned the waterways, yet almost all were ineffectual due to the unstable land on which they were built. The Eastern Townships’ economic and social ties to the United States can be seen with the improved road conditions in the areas of the region that were most heavily populated by American settlers who often traveled across the border. The Jay Treaty of 1794 prohibited trade with the United States and led settlers in the Eastern Townships to petition for improved road construction leading to Montreal in order to continue to access major markets, all unsuccessfully due to lack of government understanding and support of the area. Many resorted to employing surveyors themselves in order to break free from isolation, which was somewhat effective, but sanctions were still placed on crown land, forcing road construction to end suddenly before completion.

The high population of Americans moving into the Eastern Townships in the early 1800's led government officials to purposely neglect road development in the region to ensure that American immigration would slow and the British settler majority would continue. This was furthered by the construction of the Craig Road in 1806, which led from Quebec City to Richmond in order to open up the townships to more British settlers arriving at the Quebec port, along with more affordable market prices for produce trade and access to the rest of the colony for a greater feeling of unity. Similar to other roads in the area, the maintenance of the Craig Road was the responsibility of those who lived along it and by 1812, it had become neglected due to flooding and lack of effort.

After the relative failure of the Craig Road came many successful developments throughout the region such as the Dudswell Road in 1815 and the Gosford Road in 1838, which was the first road to be built on crown land. To combat the disrepair of roads, legislation was passed in 1847 that gave municipalities the power to order road repair and construction, and in 1848, the Municipal Law stated that road taxes could be applied to support the maintenance. An amendment in 1850 to the Road Law of 1796 was a result of the Racine Report, (Le Canadien emigrant ou purquoi le Canadien Francais quitte-t-il le Bas Canada), and forced all land owners, including clergy and absentee landlords, to pay their land taxes or their property would be seized. This was overturned and improved five years later with the Municipal and Road Act, and by 1860, the future of roads in the Eastern Townships appeared favorable. Inhabitants in the region believed roads would remove them from isolation, open the area up to further settlement and improve accessibility to markets and services. It was not until the introduction of the railway in the area however, that these needs were successfully addressed.

Waterways

There is an abundant network of waterways found in the Eastern Townships, which, for the most part, are not navigable due to the presence of waterfalls, currents, rocks and depth. The first settlers in the townships were Americans in the southern portion of the region, who used rivers such as the St. Francis, the Becancour, the Chaudiere, the Nicolet and the Yamaska to access the area. Not only were the lakes and rivers used for boat transportation during the spring and summer, but during the winter months they were used for travel and shipping low bulk goods to the markets in Montreal, Trois Rivières and Quebec City. Despite the fact that many of the rivers were not navigable, the British American Land Company (BALC) published colonization information in 1835 to attract settlers to the townships that stated that the waterways in the area were easily accessible and that their tributaries were navigable. The information that the BALC advertised was untrue, including the claim that the St. Francis led to the sea, and because of this, settlers were provided with false hopes and expectations of life in the Eastern Townships.

Settlement in the region was further hindered in 1825 when the Erie Canal opened as colonists were drawn to the western provinces where there was better transportation methods and agricultural conditions. This is not to say that the area was completely cut off from the rest of the world. The tributaries of the rivers and lakes did permit the use of ferries and steamboats, such as the Lady of the Lake and the Mountain Maid, that operated seasonally from 1851-1951 on Lake Memphremagog. This allowed for settlers to combat their sense of isolation and gave farmers passage to local markets. However, because ferries mainly traveled from Newport, Vermont to Magog, they actually contributed very little to the development of the economy due to the lack of major river accessibility. Due to the questionable reliability of the ferries, the Eastern Townships needed a stable road system that would enable colonists to travel the area as well as encourage more settlement and economic gain.