A is for Acton Vale

Since I was born in Montreal, QC my theme for the Blogging A to Z Challenge will be place names and their history within the province of Quebec. I will alternate between St. Hyacinthe and Quebec City as this is where my ancestors lived.

A is for Acton Vale

Acton Vale is a small manufacturing center on the Rivière Le Renne, about 25 km southwest of Drummondville. The first settlers of the township of Acton were either United Empire loyalists or British, especially Scots, who homesteaded the area in the 1830s.
Acton Vale benefited from the building of the St Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad line to Portland in the early 1850s and from the discovery, in 1857, of a rich copper deposit located less than 1 km from the railway station. Even though the various mining operations lasted less than 6 years, they had a tremendous impact on the early development of the community. In 1861 it was incorporated as a village.

1859 - Église de Saint-André established at Acton Vale

1900 - Acton Vale railway station, built by the Grand Trunk Railway, opened in 1900.

 

The Acton Vale Railway Station (Grand Trunk) expresses the development of the Grand Trunk Company railway in Quebec. The design of this building is based on a standard plan used by the Grand Trunk Railway Company to build several stations between 1895 and 1905 on the line connecting Montréal to Portland Maine. Formed in 1853, the Grand Trunk Railway Company became part of the Canadian National Railway Company after the latter was created in 1919.

It is listed on the National Historic sites of Canada.

Acton Vale is 38.3 km (30 min.) from Saint-Hyacinthe and 190 km (2hrs.) from Quebec City