EARLY ENGLISH SETTLEMENT OF ROUGEMONT

The territory of Rougemont was named in 1665 in honour of Sieur Etiene de Rougemont, captain of a Regiment involved in the defense of the Fort Sainte-Therese at St-Jean sur Richelieu.

As the region was mainly accessible only by the Yamaska River, it was one of the last areas of the Richelieu Valley to be inhabited. This territory, bordering on the Yamaska River, was situated between the mainly French settlements along the Richelieu River and the predominately English settlements of the Eastern Townships, made up in large numbers of United Empire Loyalists. The early inhabitants of the erea reflected this bicultural, bilingual society particularly concerning the inhabitants of Abbotsford and Rougemont.

The landscape of this area was identified by the presence of two mountains, part of the chain of the Monteregian Hills; the mountain at Rougemont bearing its name and the Yamaska at St-Paul d'Abbotsford.

The conflicts which were taking place in the United states of America had a consequence on the territory of the Yamaska. As it was felt that a military invasion could be launched from the south by the Yamaska River, two military installations were erected to protect the area. One was established at St.Hyacinthe and the other at St.Cesaire. British soldiers sent from the colonies to protect these forts settled in the area of Rougemont at the end of the conflict.

The first recorded land concessions at Rougemont date from 1797, to Mr. Pierre Picard and Mr. Jean Baptiste Beaudry.

English families began arriving in Rougemont in the early 1800's. The first settlers seemed to come to exploit the forest products. Wood was in great demand in Great Britain, especially for barrel building. Hostilities between France and England caused them to look elsewhere for supplies and the abundant forests of Quebec were exploited by important investments, particularly between 1809 and 1812.

The two mountains of the area of the Yamaska were also interesting to investors for their deposits of minerals, resulting from their volcanic origins.

Saw mills were built in Rougemont and shipments of woof and potash were sent off on the Yamaska River for shipment eventually to Europe. The area was rich in oak and pine trees; the southern slope of Rougemont mountain being the first to be cut off. The forestry activities seemed to reach their peak between 1810 and 1830.