Dudswell history
Dudswell… nature, heritage and culture are living side by side everyday !

Origins From 1782 till 1792, the King’s land surveyors divided Buckinghamshire (current Eastern Townships) into 95 townships. It was then that the township of Dudswell got its name. The map of Mange and Duberger, dating 1795, testified then of its existence under this name. Dudswell was officially proclaimed township in 1805. As all the townships, the name of Dudswell is paired with a small village in England of which the location is unknown. All that is known is that it is of British origin, being either Dudwell or Duddleswell.

Pioneers John Bishop Jr, founder of the township of Dudswell, was born in New Haven Connecticut in 1757. After the Conquest of Lower Canada, his family moved to Monkton, Vermont and began the hard work of pioneer. Eighteen years later, during the war for independence of the United States, a powerful army consisted of Loyal supporters, Indians and the British attacked the region of Monkton. Several farms were burned and most of the animals were killed. John Bishop Jr, his father, and about twenty of their compatriots were made prisoners, brought to Quebec city and put in jail. After their liberation in 1783, they returned to Monkton to resume their life of settlers. Nine years later, in 1792, when the government of Lower Canada opened Buckinghamshire to the colonization, John Bishop Jr, then father of six children, sent a demand for a concession in the township of Dudswell to the Lieutenant Governor. In 1800, our brave pioneer walked for 150 miles (approximately 500 km), accompanied by his family and associates, to come and take possession of his new territory. He chose to settle down around the Lake Mirror, initially called Dudswell Pound. In 1801, following the death of John Bishop Jr, Naphtali Bishop took over his brother’s affairs and obtained, after four years of negotiations, the quarter of the township and the associated patent letters. It was only in 1855 that the municipality of Dudswell Township was incorporated. After the pioneers’ arrival, several immigrants came from different origins : American, British, Irish, Scottish, and settled in the township of Dudswell. First, it was at Bishop’s Crossing, now called Bishopton, and later, in the early 1830s, in the Marbleton area. Around 1820, the discovery of a deposit of limestone opened the door to the economic and social development of the region. Thanks to the quality of the limestone, the production of the lime turned out to be a quickly profitable industry, which incited the French Canadians to come settle down in the region of Dudswell to work in the quarry. Becoming more and more numerous, they obtained, in 1891, the creation of the Catholic parish Saint Adolphe of Dudswell, actually located in the Marbleton area. In February, 1896, the municipality of Marbleton is established after having been separated from the township of Dudswell. Bishop Crossing's was created in 1917 as a municipality. It took the name of Bishopton in 1936, following Sydney Bishop’s demand. He became a very influential and respected businessman in the region. From 1903 onward, numerous Catholic families, most of them from Beauce, came to settle down on the farms which had been abandoned by Anglophones. The Bishopton St Clement Catholic parish registers opened in 1822.

Communications Routes The St Francis River was the first communication route and the commerce route for the Abenakis as well as for the pioneers. There was also Gosford Road, legendary road linking Quebec city to Boston, which reached Dudswell in 1830 and later on, Sherbrooke. In 1868, a group of Sherbrooke businessmen, supported by Reverend Thomas Shaw Chapman from Dudswell Township, started the Quebec Central railway construction. This railroad left Sherbrooke, and after having gone through Ascot and Westbury Townships, went through Dudswell and Weedon Townships. Thanks to new income and to the Quebec government, the railroad was built further on towards Thetford Mines and as far as Beauce Junction in 1880. The Quebec Central, after having bought Levis railroad and Kennebec railroad which had gone bankrupt (the one that went along the Chaudiere River), built railways to link the two railroads. On May 12 1881, a regular express service was established between Sherbrooke and Levis, passing through Dudswell. Local industry was thus opened to international market. Thanks to these three communication routes, the economic and social development took flight in a sensational way in the region.

Lime, the regional economy motor The Dudswell Township development was attributable to the presence of the limestone used to produce the invaluable lime. Initially, the drainage of the production was made either by water on big barges (St-Francis River) or by ground ways by means of two-wheeled wagons pulled by oxen or horses. Between 1876 and 1890, two companies produced lime in Dudswell. Their installations were later connected to the Quebec Central railroad to deliver their products, one in 1876 and the other in 1887. These two companies merged in 1890 to become The Dominion Lime Company. The latter went on producing lime in Dudswell under different names. With the evolution of this industry and the striking economic development which it pulled, a hamlet was set up, not far from Marbleton. This mining village was named Lime Ridge. It quickly developed with about forty houses, a factory of barrels to transport lime, a hotel, a general store, a sawmill, a flourmill, a blacksmith shop, a school, etc. The coming of technology, doubled by modern mechanization, caused the gradual disappearance of this small village. So, in the late 50's, houses were sold to the inhabitants at a symbolic price, on the condition of moving them out of the company properties. Nowadays, only the Lime Center of Interpretation building testifies of this period of past glory. Lime Ridge henceforth no longer exists, but lives in the collective imagination of the region.

Dudswell Today In 1995, Bishopton and Marbleton villages were merged with Dudswell Township, and a new municipality was thus founded, Dudswell, and it covers the whole township.

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