In 1833 the Eastern Townships was isolated from the rest of Lower Canada. Roads connecting the Townships to QuÄbec and MontrÄal were barely passable in many places and there were no obstacle-free rivers flowing northwards to the St. Lawrence. Early settlers had discovered that much of the soil was not very fertile and the high altitude of the region considerably shortened the growing season. This map shows the St. Francis Tract, an unsurveyed area in the southeastern corner of the Townships. It was purchased in 1833 by a British land company and twenty years later it became part of the newly-created Compton County.
