History of Embrun/Under a new name/Embrun from 1856-1867
< Back to Life in Embrun in 1856
Under a new name: Embrun from 1856-1867
[edit | edit source]Embrun continued to prosper through 1856, 1857, and 1858. It wasn't until 1859 that the prosperity looked as though it might be going down the drain.
In 1859, lumbermen had to walk for 30 minutes to get from their homes in the town to the edge of the trees due to deforestation. It took even longer at the end of the day due to the fact that they had to transport several chopped trees back to the town. It could take them almost 1 hour at the end of the day to get back to Embrun.
Many citizens advocated an attempt to get another industry. Many lumbermen were simply giving up their job due to the long travel times. Nearly half of Embrun's lumbermen gave up on their job in 1859.
In the spring of 1860, the lumbermen decided to start chopping wood to the south, a direction in which the lumbermen had not yet tried. However, the Castor River was blocking the way. So, they built a bridge across the river.
With the lumber industry saved, Embrun felt more confident. However, their role as the only major town in the area was gone. The town of Casselman was by now growing, although it was not as big as Embrun. However, Embrun took little interest in this growing community. The citizens of Embrun had more pressing matters on their mind than Casselman.
In 1864, the Saint Augustine-de-Catherine road, which still kept its original name, was rebuilt to be twice as wide, which enabled more lumber carts to travel on it at once, making lumber export easier.
In February 1866, Embrun's population reached 1,000 and a French-language journal, Le Village started publication in May 1866. An English version of the paper, with the same title, started publication in September of that year.