Toponymie | Canton de Potton | Place Names

Crowel Road refers to the Crowell family, who once lived in the vicinity of Dunkin. 

“At one time the present road from Highwater to Dunkin was a secondary road used only at flood time, the main road was on the south side of the River past the Highwater Station down past the Baker Talc and the old Fred Crowel place.”^[1]

Reference is made to the “Crowell bridge that crossed the Missisquoi River a little bit south of Dunkin (…) was used to transport logs by four horse teams using sleighs in winter (…) to Crowell's siding on the south side of the river to the CPR, where it was loaded on flat cars and shipped to the Singer Co. in St. John's.”^[2] (Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, where a factory was located.)  

The Dunkin area was home to substantial logging operations in the early 1900's.  It is further written in the article, “the old bridge was rebuilt three times and it finally broke up in the 1950's”.^[3] 

Frederick Crowell also owned a home and property in Dunkin, which he sold in 1938 to Hermann & Margaret Ommerli, a couple originally from Switzerland.  The Omerlis operated a Canadian Youth Hostel in their home for nearly 30 years, until 1975.

Harvey Crowell (1888-1929) and his wife, Jane B. Potter (1840-1919), are buried in the Ruiter's Settlement Cemetery in Dunkin.  Hermann and Margaret Ommerli are interred in Mansonville Protestant Cemetery.