Philipsburg : 160 ans, officiellement

Pour souligner le 160e anniversaire de Philipsburg, nous reproduisons un article paru il y a dix ans dans The RECORD, Tuesday, August 27 1996, sous la signature de Thelma Rhicard.

Philipsburg celebrates its 150th anniversary

On June 30, the Village of Philipsburg celebrated their 150th Anniversary with a Canada Day service at the United Church. 1846-1996. It was well attended by folks from several towns. Rev. Brett Anningson officiated and the chairperson of the anniversary committee. Velma Symington gave the following address on "The History of Philipsburg." Other administrators are: Jacqueline Morin, Normand Paquin and Paul Morin. Members are: Jacqueline Boulet, Nicole Dufour, Marjorie Hewitt, Dietrich Kruger and Jeanine Kruger.

Explanation of the Philipsburg Logo by the winner of the Logo contest: Mr. Deitrich Kruger from Philipsburg.

The BLUE background represents Lake Champlain.
The CROSS refers to our ancestors who brought christianity to the region; and to our three churches and religious communities.
The two COLUMNS represent the marble quarry and its tradesmen.
The WHEEL tells about Eaton's ancient carriage factory.
The SAILBOAT and the FISH are for sports and recreation.
The SUN refers to the beautiful sunset on the lake.
The MAPLE LEAF represents the maple sugar industry and our magnificent Indian Summers.
The BIRDS as the wild goose, the Quebec snow-owl and the cardinal for our famous bird sanctuary.

The earliest agricultural lands were developed by the Best and the Hyatt families, in the emplacement of today's Lakeside farm. The Sixby farm is now the Wade farm. And the Millar farm, the Litgens farm.

From Missisquoi Bay, our village came to be known in 1809 as Philipsburg, before becoming officially incorporated in 1846 as the "Village of Philipsburg".

The first house to be built in Philipsburg in 1784, was the log cabin, still located near the Park on the lakeshore. The second house, erected in 1794, is also of historical importance, since it was inhabited by our two and only representatives in the House of Commons, Ralph Taylor in 1829 and Fred Kay in 1945.

But as far back as 1754, European settlers had chosen Philipsburg as a strategic post to develop trade and commerce, following the lead of Samuel de Champlain, who in 1609, had explored the lake thereafter named in his honor.

However, it is worthwhile to remember that the original and earliest settlers wer neither the French nor the English but the Abenaki people, who from time immemorial, have inhabited the land around Missisquoi Bay, where they still live.

In 1784, the American colonists uprising against the Crown was opposed by the "United Empire Loyalists" who wished to remain loyal to the Crown. Most Loyalists had to flee. Some of them, under the leadership of John Ruiter, from New York, found refuge north of the border and settled at Missisquoi Bay; this in spite of the opposition of the Canadian authorities, who for a while, stripped them of their land rights and of their pensions.

As modern road transportation expanded, replacing waterway, Philipsburg began to decline as the region's economic center. However, it remained a key post on the new highway linking Montreal, St-Jean, St. Albans, Burlington, Boston and New York.

But the major economic force in Philipsburg was its marble quarry. The quarry was known world over for its quality products. The marbled used in the construction of the Parliament buildings in Ottawa, as well as in many public buildings in Montreal and other cities around the world, came from Philipsburg.

In 1960, economic circumstances forced the quarry to close down, inflicting a fatal blow to Philipsburg's economy. But as if to remind us of our past, the foundation of several houses in the village still show marble blocks which came from the quarry.

Submitted by Thelma Rhicard.