Cowansville's
history begins in 1798 with the arrival of the first settler,
Jabob Ruiter, son of a Loyalist. In 1800, Jacob
Ruiter builds a flour-mill and a sawmill on the south shore of
the Yamaska river, near the site of the present bridge on South
Street. At that time, the mill contributed a lot to the community's
economy.In 1806, Jacob Ruiter names this place Nelsonville, in
honor of Vice Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson who was killed in action
in the battle of Trafalgar, October 21, 1805.
Peter Cowan, a Montreal mechant, arrives in Nelsonville
in 1836. At that time, there are only four houses in the small
village. On February 6, 1841, the post office in Sweetsburg is transferred to Nelsonville, into Peter Cowan's general store. This first post
office in Nelsonville is named Cowansville
so that the mail will not get mixed up with the one of the village
of Nelson (near Hamilton), Upper Canada. The village
will gradually become known as Cowansville. So, the morning of February 6, Albert Barney, postmaster of Sweetsburg, after closing the Sweetsburg post office, brings all the books, seals and postal boxes to Cowansville. Peter Cowan becomes officially the first postmaster of Nelsonville on February 7, 1841 and he remained
in that position until 1861.
The
Sweetsburg court house emerged in 1861.The cases of the Bedford district (Shefford, Brome and Missisquoi Counties) were held there.The
village grew quickly thanks to The Cowansville Observer, a newspaper
founded in 1870. Other events such as the construction of the
South Eastern Railway linking Montreal to Cowansville and the
establishment of the Eastern Township Bank branch also in 1870
contributed to the city's expansion. The first train of the South
Eastern Railway arrived in Cowansville on Saturday, November 26,
1870 at 5 pm.
On
January 1, 1876, the village was incorporated and Cowansville
become its official name.
Today,
the population of Cowansville is 12,000 and it remains a city
with industrial and commercial potential. |
