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St. Hyacinthe Founded at the end of the French regime, St. Hyacinthe is located on the Yamaska River, thirty-six miles east of Montreal. It remained a small village until the railway age, since which it has developed into a busy industrial city with a population of more than 55,800 in 2006. It is served by the main C.N.R. lines to Halifax, N.S., and Portland, Maine, and by branch lines to Farnham, Drummondville, and Sorel. Paved highways link the city to both Montreal and Quebec. Industry developed early, there were four plants in 1870. Textiles are most important, employing four-fifths of the labour force. The three largest plants manufacture woollen and cotton underwear, cotton tire fabrics and silk hosiery. Other textile plants produce factory clothing, shirts and silk shirts. There are numerous other plants producing boots and shoes, agricultural implements, castings, builders supplies and canned vegetables. Here also are built the famous Casavant organs known over the whole continent. St. Hyacinthe is a commercial centre of regional importance because of its rail facilities and the newly built highways. There is also a classical college. Raoul Blanchard cites St. Hyacinthe as the typical ville Canadienne. The older town is built on the lower terrace (60 feet) of the left bank of the Yamaska river, the buildings are crowded and the streets are narrow; the newer areas are on the upper terrace (100 feet) and have wider, tree-lined streets. Valleyfield Valleyfield is located on the south bank of the St. Lawrence, thirty-seven miles west of Montreal. It is partly built on De Salaberry Island and partly on the right bank at the entrance to the old and now abandoned Beauharnois Canal. The city developed from a construction camp of workers who built the canal in 1850 and stayed there to work in the small industrial plants attracted by local water power. Montreal Cotton Mills established themselves in 1874 and continue to employ about three-fourths of the total labour force. There are about forty other small plants, but Valleyfield is a typical one industry town which might be rather hard hit in a depression. Beauharnois Beauharnois is located a few miles east of Valleyfield at the outlet of the new Beauharnois canal. Before the war it had only a small industrial force, but plenty of water power. Large electro-metallurgical plants, producing ferro-alloys and aluminum. Older plants continue to produce paper and furniture. Home