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Potton is a township municipality of about 1,850 people in the Memphrémagog Regional County Municipality. It is located on the western shore of Lake Memphremagog in the Estrie (Eastern Townships) region of Quebec, and is one of the municipalities in Brome County. Potton is located about southeast of Montreal, to the southwest of the city of Magog, and next to the United States border, north of North Troy, Vermont. Potton Township (Canton de Potton) consists of several villages and hamlets that include Potton Springs, Mansonville, Highwater, Dunkin, Province Hill, Leadville, Vale Perkins, Perkins Landing, and Knowlton's Landing. Of these, Mansonville is the business center and the seat of government (Municipalite du canton de Potton) for the township. Formerly a sleepy community, Mansonville has experienced some growth and prosperity because of its proximity to the Owl's Head ski resort. Like many Eastern Townships and New England villages, Mansonville grew up around a water-powered mill which exploited a head of water above a fall on the North Branch of the Missisquoi River. The mill ceased operating with electrification in the early 20th century, which allowed economies of scale and centralized manufacturing in larger centres. It operated as a feed and grain mill until 2004, when it was destroyed by fire. Overlooking the mill site is the mansion of the Manson family that founded the town. The mansion has since become a bed and breakfast. Mansonville, like many Eastern Townships communities, has long had a mixture of French and English-speaking residents and is home to over twenty nationalities and ethnic groups. Religious diversity is present, and in Mansonville, Roman Catholic, United (closed 2011) and Anglican churches are located a few yards apart. Mansonville was also the home of Russian Orthodox prelate Metropolitan Vitaly Ustinov for some five decades until his death in 2006. ==History== The area encompassed by the township is part of the larger territory originally inhabited by the Abenaki tribe. There are no known permanent Abenaki habitation sites in the township. The area was used by them for hunting and fishing. Lake Memphremagog and the Missisquoi River were important trade and travel routes. A number of place names originate from them:〔( Philippe Charland: Définition et reconstitution de l'espace territorial du nord-est amériquain : la reconstruction de la carte du W8banaki par la toponymie abénakise au Québec Aln8baïwi Kdakina-- notre monde à la manière abénakise. Doctor of Philosophy thesis, Department of Geography, McGill University, Montreal, 2005 )〕 *Owl's Head is the English name for the mountain called "Walowadjo". From the Abenaki language, "walo" translates as "saw-whet owl" (aegolius acadicus); "wadjo" translates as "mountain". *Owl's Head was also called "Waloimudupsek": "walo" translates as "saw-whet owl" (aegolius acadicus); "imudups" translates as "head"; "ek" translates as "location". *Memphremagog comes from the word "Memrahabegek", which means "where there is a big expanse of water". *Memphremagog was also pronounced as "Mamphremagog". This came from the Abenakis "Mamlawbagak" which signifies "a long and large sheet of water". The prefix "mamlaw" denotes largeness or abundance; the particule "baga" denotes water; and "k" marks the name as given in local term.〔(Joseph Laurent, New Familiar Abenakis and English Dialogues, the First Ever Published on the Grammatical System. L. Brousseau 1884:p. 214 )〕 *Missisquoi comes from the word "Masipskoik", which means "a place where there are boulders", more specifically "boulders point".〔(George McAleer, A Study in the Etymology of the Indian Place Name Missisquoi. The Blanchard Press 1906:p. 85 )〕 *Missisquoi also comes from the Abenakis "Masipskoik" which means "where there is flint".〔(Joseph Laurent, New Familiar Abenakis and English Dialogues, the First Ever Published on the Grammatical System. L. Brousseau 1884:p. 216 )〕 There are several solstice sites and petroglyph sites in the township. The Eastern Townships of Quebec were opened for settlement by the Constitutional Act of 1791.〔(Loyalist Settlement in Quebec )〕 The first European settler in Potton township was Nicholas Austin. He was a Loyalist from Somersworth, New Hampshire who in 1791 settled at the site of present day Perkins Landing.〔( William Bryant Bullock, Beautiful Waters: Devoted to the Memphremagog Region in History, Legend, Anecdote, Folklore, Poetry, Drama. Memphremagog Press, Newport, Vt., 1926 (First Edition):pp. 17 and 47 )〕 Due to a navigation error, he moved, in 1793, north to Bolton Township to the land that was allocated to him. The town of Austin remembers his name.〔(Austin's History )〕 Austin's log house at Perkins Landing was assumed by Samuel Perkins in 1793.〔( William Bryant Bullock, Beautiful Waters: Devoted to the Memphremagog Region in History, Legend, Anecdote, Folklore, Poetry, Drama. Memphremagog Press, Newport, Vt., 1926 (First Edition):pp. 46 and 47 )〕 Other early settlers of Potton Township were David Blanchard, Col. Henry Ruiter,〔(The Ancestry of Sally Sleeper Russell of Worcester, Massachusetts (1919-1983) )〕 Moses Elkins, and the Perkins, Manson, Gilman, and Coit families.〔( William Bryant Bullock, Beautiful Waters: Devoted to the Memphremagog Region in History, Legend, Anecdote, Folklore, Poetry, Drama. Memphremagog Press, Newport, Vt., 1926 (First Edition):pp. 20 and 21 )〕 The names of the early settlers remain in the toponymy of the township: Ruiter's Brook in Dunkin, Vale Perkins, Perkins Landing, Mansonville, and Knowlton's Landing. Potton Township was proclaimed on October 31, 1797.〔(History of Brome County, Quebec from the Date of Grants of Land Therein, to the Present Time (Vol. 1), John Lovell & Son, Limited, Montreal 1908:p. 73 )〕 It, and the homonymous municipality township erected in 1845, derive their name from the town of Potton in England, located in Bedfordshire, near the village of Sutton. Perkins Landing and Knowlton's Landing were regular stops for the steamships that plied Lake Memphremagog from the latter half of the 19th century up to the mid-20th century. The first of these steamships was the ''Mountain Maid'', the ''Lady of the Lake'' was the largest, and the last was the ''Anthemis''. The wharves at these locations now provide public access to the lake. Two lighthouses were located on the shore of Lake Memphremagog.〔(Sixteenth Annual Report of the Department of Marine and Fisheries Being for the Fiscal Year Ended 30th June, 1882 )〕 They were built in 1878 and no longer exist. *Chateau de Silva Lighthouse, located roughly midway between Knowlton's Landing and Perkins Landing, *Lead Mines Lighthouse, located near Leadville, at the foot of Mount Owl's Head. The covered bridge crossing Mud Creek 〔(Pont de la Frontière Pont de la Frontière )〕 was listed as a cultural heritage site in 2008.〔(Pont couvert de la Frontière )〕 The bridge was built in 1896 and is of the "Town Simple" type.〔(Pont de la Frontière Canton Potton (Masonville) Qc )〕 A round barn, built in 1911 for Robert Jersey, is situated in Mansonville. The structure and site were listed as a cultural heritage site in 2009.〔(Grange ronde de Mansonville )〕 Highwater was the site of the Space Research Corporation where Gerald Bull performed ballistics research. Portions of the 1998 movie "Free Money" were filmed in Vale Perkins, Highwater, Mansonville, and near Mount Owl's Head. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Potton, Quebec」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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