The imposing brick house in front of you was built in 1828 by Levi Knowlton, an American from Massachusetts who also founded Knowlton Landing in 1821. The house was for many decades a stopover inn, later known as Pine Lodge, on the road from Montreal to Boston. It was here that travelers stayed before taking the ferry to Georgeville or boarding the next stagecoach to Montreal.
Moses Copp and Nicholas Austin, two settlers from New Hampshire, are credited with building the landing for the region's first commercial ferry in 1797. It was around this installation that the community of Knowlton Landing, or North Potton as it was first called, developed.
Other families settled the hamlet and were added to the Knowlton Landing family, including that of John Tuck, a colourful character who was at times an innkeeper, customs broker, ferry operator, municipal councillor and postmaster, however the latter was dependant on the political party in power! John Tuck died in 1928 at the age of 93.
The Copp's ferries carried passengers, mail, animals, and goods from one side of lake Memphremagog to the other. Initially propelled by oars and then by horses, these rudimentary ferries were replaced by steamboats around 1860.
The appearance of steamers on Lake Memphremagog and the building of a reliable rail network, marked the beginning of a new era in Potton. By facilitating the transportation of goods and travellers, the rapid popularity of tourism increased the economic potential of the region.
The first major steamboat on Lake Memphremagog was the Mountain Maid. Launched in September 1850, it carried 250 passengers to the various ports of call between Magog and Newport, Vermont, including some hotels that appeared on the shores of the lake in the second half of the 19th century. The steamer took less than two and a half hours to complete the trip.
Other steamboats sailed on the lake until the middle of the 20th century, including the Lady of the Lake, which was by far the largest and most luxurious. Launched in 1867, this boat was over 50 meters long, had two paddle wheels and accommodated nearly 1200 passengers. It included a dining room and a luxurious upper deck that offered excursionists a breathtaking view of the landscape. In the cold off-season, this magnificent vessel was used to pull log booms to Newport
The intensification of the traffic on the lake obliged the authorities to build, as early as 1878, several lighthouses in order to warn the boats of the presence of rocks and shoals. Of the ten lighthouses installed around the lake, seven were on the Canadian side, including one in the southern part of the township, the Lead Mine lighthouse. Unfortunately, none of these structures have survived in their original form.