Beebe Plain is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in the town of

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

in Orleans County,

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

, United States, which extends into the municipality of

Stanstead, Quebec Stanstead is a city (Quebec), town in the Memphrémagog Regional County Municipality in the Estrie region of Quebec, located on the Canada–United States border across from Derby Line, Vermont, Derby Line, Vermont. The Town of Stanstead was c ...

, Canada. The village is divided by the

Canada–United States border The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...

between

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and the United States; the Canadian portion of Beebe Plain had the status of an incorporated municipality in its own right until 1995.

Geography

The international border runs up the middle of Canusa Street ( Quebec Route 247). Local legend claims that a group of rather drunken

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. These points are usually on the ...

s, when given the task of determining the United States-Canada border line in the region (nominally at 45.00°N), decided to place the border right through the center of the village along what is now Canusa Street. Beebe Plain is part of a group of nearby border villages which includes Derby Line, Vermont, and

. Beebe Plain is located near

Lake Memphremagog Lake Memphremagog (; , ) is a fresh water glacial lake located between Newport (city), Vermont, Newport, Vermont, United States and Magog, Quebec, Canada. The lake spans both Quebec and Vermont, but is mostly in Quebec. Most of the watershed th ...

between Newport and Magog.

Industry

Beebe granite or "Stanstead Grey Granite" is famous for its use in architectural design. The production of granite from the region may well be the largest industry, with much of the stone being used in the construction of tombstones and memorials.

History

The village was founded circa 1798 by Thomas B. Beebe, born 1776 in Windsor, Vermont.

Features

The former Massawippi Valley Railway line once joined

Lennoxville, Quebec Lennoxville () is an ''arrondissement'', or borough, of the city of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. Lennoxville is located at the confluence of the St. Francis and Massawippi Rivers approximately five kilometres south of downtown Sherbrooke. Lenn ...

, through a border crossing at Beebe Plain to Newport, Vermont. That line was abandoned and removed by the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

between 1989 and 1991. Portions of the former right-of-way remain open for recreational use:Log Cabin Chronicles Dr. Keith Mahoney's biking from Vermont to Quebec story
/ref> * Beebe Plain, Vermont, to Waterfront Park (Main Street,

US 5 U.S. Route 5 (US 5) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway running through the New England states of Connecticut, Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, ...

) Newport as the Newport Bike Path. * Beebe Plain, Québec, to Ayer's Cliff, a bicycle and pedestrian trail, le sentier nature Tomifobia. * Beebe Junction, Québec, to Stanstead village (a former spur), as the Piste Cyclable de Stanstead * a segment from North Hatley to

The section between Beebe's rue Principale (Québec Route 247) and North Derby Road (US) is no longer open, forcing cyclists onto Beebe's main street. A section between Ayer's Cliff and North Hatley is also no longer open.

References

External links

Boston magazine—Danger at our door
* Beebe Plain, Quebec (in French) {{Coord, 45, 0.3202, N, 72, 8.4661, W, type:city, display=title Unincorporated communities in Vermont Derby, Vermont Unincorporated communities in Orleans County, Vermont