Sherbrooke

History

Charles Baye de La Giraudière established a fort along the banks of the St. Mary's River in 1650, named Fort Sainte-Marie. A schoolhouse was established in the community in 1815 and by 1818, two sawmills, a gristmill and a post office were present in the community, along with about twenty houses. Sherbrooke and surrounding communities benefited from one of several gold rushes. Miners came from all over Canada and the United States to stake a claim in the gold of the Sherbrooke area. Goldenville, being the most popular for miners, was a boom town. Previously as populous as it is today, in a very short time it grew to many times its previous size. The gold rush lasted about 20 years. Mining was revived in the 20th century, but it did not achieve the success of previous operations. Following the gold rush era, the economy for the area turned from gold mining to fishing, tourism, and lumber. St. Mary's Memorial Hospital was opened on September 28, 1949 and St. Mary's Rural High School opened on November 14, 1953.

Geography

Sherbrooke is nestled between Sherbrooke Lake and St. Mary's River. Over the past decades the population of Atlantic salmon has decreased dramatically, and fishing of Atlantic salmon is strictly prohibited, as is catch and release. Land resources are constrained by the bedrock, which is hard, nutrient-poor quartzite. The soils that have developed on this rock around Sherbrooke are mostly mapped as Halifax series, which are non-arable due to their excessive stoniness, droughtiness, low fertility and strong acidity. Sherbrooke itself is largely built on deep sands and gravels of the Hebert series, which is for the most part marginally arable. The soils in and around Sherbrooke are more valuable for forestry than for agriculture. The bedrock had enough gold to support mining operations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but mining ceased soon after and a precipitous population decline was noted by 1921. The St. Mary's River is home to hundreds of different wildlife species, from the smallest insects to the many different predators. The St. Mary's River has a length of over and has three main branches, the east branch, the west branch, and the north branch. The branch feeds into the main river located by Sherbrooke, which then empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The St. Mary's River is home to the famous Atlantic Salmon, but as listed above they are no longer allowed to be fished due to their critically low population. The river is also home to bald eagles which make their home on old dead trees along the St. Mary's River, because of the food that await in the water below. If you are lucky, you may get to see one perched on an old tree as you drive along the St. Mary's River. Other common birds to see along the river are Osprey, Great-horned owls, and a wide…

Most-observed species

• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  19,716
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  19,125
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  13,307
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  13,178
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  12,869
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  12,375
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  11,264
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  9,949

Most recent

• M 3.8 — 2024-09-01
  5 km SE of Pierreville, Canada
• M 3.1 — 2020-05-06
  9 km SE of Bedford, Canada
• M 2.59 — 2013-02-07
  11 km E of Cookshire, Canada
• M 2.6 — 2012-12-29
  7 km E of Saint-Barnabé-Sud, Canada
• M 2.64 — 2011-06-22
  6 km E of Mont-Saint-Grégoire, Canada
• M 2.7 — 2010-04-21
  7 km WNW of Valcourt, Canada