Saint-Ignace-de-Stanbridge

Saint-Ignace-de-Stanbridge saw its first colonists around 1810 – among them, Simon and Peter Stone, giving the area its original name of Stone Settlement. With a Catholic presence beginning in 1873, the mission became the parish of Saint-Ignace three years later, but wasn't made an official municipality until 1889. It draws its name from Saint Ignace of Antioch, a bishop and martyr of the first century. The Stanbridge part of the name emphasized its inclusion in the township of the same name in 1801, as well as recalling an English town in Bedfordshire. Residents are particularly proud of the charming hamlet of Mystic located nearby. In the 19th century, Mystic was the centre of much industrial activity, due to the construction of a foundry and metalworking shop in 1864 by the son of Salomon Walbridge, a native of Cambridge, Vermont. In 1868, a dam built across the Walbridge Stream enhanced the operation.read more > In 1882, the Walbridge family built a spectacular home and an imposing red 12-sided barn – the latter being the principal remaining vestige of the Walbridge’s mark on the area.