Inverness’s recent history
In the 1970’s, the village of Inverness has a bank, a garage, a restaurant, a hotel, two grocery stores, an antique shop, a sawmill, a sports store, a trophy factory, three churches (Roman Catholic, Anglican and Presbyterian) and a Roman Catholic elementary school. The I.O.O.F Hall (Imperial Order of Odd Fellows), created in 1908, is used as a meeting centre, dining hall, card game parlour and also as a funeral hall by the Anglophones of the community. In those days, Inverness is still the seat of the Megantic County, and the courthouse is home to the town hall, the county court and the registry office. In 1977, the Inverness Township reaches a population of 1159 people, 359 of which lived in the village. The majority of the villagers (95%) are of French Canadian descent, the rest are of Irish, Scottish and British descent.
In the hills of Inverness, agriculture remained an important activity but gradually, there was a shift toward producing Christmas trees and cattle breeding. The agriculture fair of Megantic County was held in Inverness until 1970 and then moved to Thetford Mines. The Association of cattle breeders of Inverness, founded in 1971, is at the origin of the famous Inverness auction. This auction was one of the most important of its kind in Canada in the 1980’s and it was there that price standards for cattle were set. Each year, over 3000 animals from Quebec, Ontario and the United States were traded there. The last of these auctions took place in mid-October of 2002. Since 1981, the Inverness Beef festival has taken over in a way, and each year it attracts tens of thousands of people and over two thousand campers from Quebec, Ontario and the United States. During the festival, three hundred volunteers participate in the organization of the event to guarantee its success.
A new wave of immigration
At the beginning of the 1970’s, young adults acquired properties, farms and homes in Inverness. Their behaviour caught the attention of the local residents, namely because they seemed to all know each other and want above all else to enjoy life. It didn’t appear these young urbanites had consulted one another about settling in Inverness, but it was clear they shared certain affinities.
They were quickly referred to by locals as the “Youks” whose word origins still remain unclear. Some believe it to be a contraction of the French “D’you qu’y viennent?”, roughly translating to “Where’d they from?”. Others believe the word may have come from the English expression “Young Hook” because they appeared to live at the expense of society. Yet, these young urbanites started to find work, or even create their own work in the region. They progressively got involved in local organizations, in the municipal council, and also fought to keep Jean-XXIII primary school open. Over the years, they joined forces and initiated projects that later became the municipal library, the “Tortunette” daycare and the foundries.
In 1980, the population reached its peak and the “Youks” and their children accounted for 10% of the population of Inverness. While this particular immigration trend subsided around 1984, others from France, Belgium and different regions of Quebec charmed by Inverness came to join the community. The cultural differences between the new immigrants became less marked over the years and their children and grand-children came to be fully integrated members of the community.
Then and now
For a long time, agriculture, cattle breeding, the forest industry and the maple syrup industry had ensured the economic growth of the municipality of Inverness. At the turn of the 20th century, the emergence of the bronze industry also begins to contribute to Inverness’s economic development and reputation. The artisans of Inverness develop an expertise renowned for the art of melting bronze and aluminium. The creation of two foundries, The Fonderie d’Art and l’Atelier du Bronze, specializing in the casting of art pieces, generated a lot of enthusiasm for this area of activity. These initiatives paved the way for the opening in 1995 of an eco-museum named The Bronze Museum, which is located in Inverness’ former courthouse.
Around 1930, Inverness has four Churches, a protestant high school, a registry office, a Royal Bank branch (left), four general stores, including the McMammon store (right), a garage and a hotel. At this time, certain parts of the Inverness Township have electricity but in 1957, the residents of rural routes 2 and 3 are still without power (Collection La Route Celtique).
The “henhouse” at the time of the first dance parties (1949). On the north banks of the Bécancour River, the famous “henhouse” (The Bluff) was transformed into a ballroom where Irish and Scottish natives still come to enjoy the folk music they love (Collection Kenneth Murphy).
The Royal Bank around 1960. In 1987, the Inverness branch was closed and merged with the Thetford Mines Branch. The building currently serves as the Municipal Office, the library and medical clinic (Collection La Route Celtique).
The agriculture fair of Inverness (Collection Sylvia Dacres Champagne).
Inverness auction (Collection Jean-Guy Côté).
The Beef Festival (Collection of the festival). The Beef festival was initially founded in order to bring financial support to the factory in the Saint-Athanase parish of Inverness. At present, the profits it generates go back to the community, the factory and other non profit organizations.
The Beef Festival (Collection of the festival).
The Village (Picture by Jean Rousseau).
Maple grove near Lake Joseph (Picture by Gilles Pelletier).
The Methodist Church built at the western entrance of the village in 1862 closed its doors in 1950. It was later transformed into a garage and since 1986, it houses the Fonderie d’Art. Since 1996, sculptor Anne Renard, who has been creating for over forty years, also uses the Fonderie d’Art as her Gallery (Fonderie d’Art d’Inverness).
Bronze basin created for the 350th anniversary of the Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré basilica (Fonderie d’Art of Inverness).
Maurice Richard by Marc-André J. Fortier, at Place du Centenaire, Montreal (Atelier du Bronze). For the Montreal Canadiens’ centennial, the Atelier du Bronze also created bronze statues of Jean Béliveau, Guy Lafleur and Howie Morenz.
The Musée du Bronze (Picture by Gilles Pelletier).
L’équilibriste by Gérard Bélanger, 1994 (Musée du Bronze).
