Toponymie | Canton de Potton | Place Names

In the French language, a cheminot is a railway man, perhaps appropriate then for this road to be named Chemin des Cheminots for it is built on the original tracing of the Orford Mountain Railway, which began in Windsor Mills, Quebec, (1903) and came to Mansonville in 1907. 

“Valedictory for the Orford Mountain Railway” appearing in Yesterdays of Brome County, Volume I, tells the history of the OMR, noting that the railway arrived at the time: “(…) when the demand for copper brought about by the civil war in the United States encouraged interests (…) to exploit a mine(s) (…), about three miles south of the present village of Eastman, Que.; (…) later known as Bolton Mines (…) the ore being transported by wagon for about twelve miles to the railhead (…) at Waterloo, Quebec”.  In 1870, the owner of the mine built “a light mining tramway” to connect the mine with the Waterloo railhead; however, the wooden rails which were used proved a failure. Other economic issues converged and led to the sale of the mining company.  It was built under the influence of Judge Samuel W. Foster and others, who also owned the railway Company. 

One of the stops on the railway was for a company which made wood shoe lasts, owned by G. Willard, and located on Traver Road.  The rail line also brought many visitors to the Potton Springs Hotel, located on Potton Springs road, at the northern extremity of the Township.

When the corner of Chemin des Cheminots and Chemin Peabody was widened to municipal standards about 15 years ago, bricks, stones and other debris found during construction confirmed that Peabody Crossing, a whistle-stop station, once existed here.