Des Sources

Founded in the late 1840s, Saint-Camille was one of the first French-speaking villages of the Eastern Townships. However, the architecture of its buildings draws on an English-language heritage. Renowned for its cultural activities and expertise in rural community development, Saint-Camille is a united, innovative, and learning community. Its population is growing, having recently passed the 570 mark.

Located in the former general store and opened in 1988,le P'Ti Bonheur de Saint-Camille,  this cultural and community centre, puts on shows, exhibitions, and festivals, and offers services, meals, and training to the community.

This is the capital of the asbestos-producing region, known particularly for its open-pit mines. With the Jeffrey Mine, the town can continue to claim to this day to have the largest open-air deposit in the world. The asbestos was discovered by 1879, and extraction began by William H. Jeffrey in 1881. Val-des-Sources (before called Asbestos) has been through its courses and graduated, growing from a simple post office to mining camp and from village to town. The name “Asbestos,” dating back to 1884, comes from the English word derived from the Greek name for incombustible.

The museum collects minerals from the Jeffrey Mine as well as derivative products from the mining industry, and provides information on the history of local mining.

On June 14, 1902, the Montreal Daily Herald ran the headline, “Danville, one of the most beautiful towns in the province of Quebec.” Danville is located at the edge of the Eastern Townships, where the Bois-Francs region starts. It owes its growth to the arrival of the railway in the mid-18th century. Magnificent Victorian homes and the American-style square continue to bear witness to that era.

Danville has been home to well-known leaders such as Daniel Johnson, premier of Quebec from 1966 to 1968, and Mack Sennett, an icon of Hollywood silent movies.

Take a stroll along the three heritage tours, which will reveal Danville’s exceptional charm with more than 66 buildings of heritage, historical, and cultural interest. The tours take you to buildings of neo-Queen Ann, American vernacular, mansard, neo-Italian, Second Empire, and Boomtown styles.  A pamphlet on the tours is available at the MRC des Sources tourist information office.

One of the world largest open-pit mining site is located in Val-des-Sources. Dug by more than 120 years of mining, Its 2-kilometer-diameter pit can be seen from an observatory overlooking the mine. Free access. A unique view!

In french only

Johns-Manville mining company ordered this 1,3 million dollars massive haul truck from the United States in the early 1970s. Given that it can’t be driven on public roads due to its exceptionnal weight and size, it was delivered in parts and assembled on site. The dump truck has been on display at the entrance to the City of Val-des-Sources since 1987 in memory of the municipality's mining history

Not available in English.