From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sherbrooke (2006 population: 147,427)[1] is a Canadian city in southern Quebec. Sherbrooke is situated at the confluence of the Saint-François (St. Francis) and Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE) and census division (CD) of Quebec, coextensive with the city of Sherbrooke.
Part of a region historically known as the Eastern Townships, Sherbrooke was first settled in 1793 by American Loyalists, including Gilbert Hyatt, a farmer from Schenectady, New York, who built a flour mill in 1802. The village was named "Hyatt's Mills" until 1818 when the village was renamed after Governor General Sir John Sherbrooke at the time of his retirement and return to England.
The city grew considerably on January 1, 2002, by the mergers of the cities of Sherbrooke, Ascot, Bromptonville, Deauville, Fleurimont, Lennoxville, Rock Forest, and Saint-Élie-d'Orford.
In 2007 Canadian Business Magazine Magazine ranked Sherbrooke as the top place to do business in Canada.[4] The report cites large increases in commercial building permits, strong exports, a highly educated workforce, and low unemployment rate.
Sherbrooke is also the centre of an important agricultural region with many dairy farms. An important business is the manufacturing of ice hockey sticks: more of these are made in Sherbrooke than anywhere else in the world.[citation needed] The city has a concrete truss bridge, the first of its kind in the world.[citation needed]