Beebe Plain is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in the town of

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

in Orleans County,

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...

, United States, which extends into the municipality of

Stanstead, Quebec Stanstead is a 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. The Town of Stanstead was created in 1995 by the merger of t ...

, Canada. The village is divided by the

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

between

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

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

Geography

Border Patrol at Canadian border in Beebe Plain, Vermont

The

international border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political border ...

runs up the middle of

Canusa Street Canusa Street (french: rue Canusa) is the only part of the Canada–United States border that runs down the middle of a street. The street separates Beebe Plain, Vermont, in the United States, from the Beebe Plain area of Stanstead, Quebec, ...

(

Quebec Route 247 Route 247 is a north/south highway on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in the Estrie region of Quebec. Its northern terminus is in Magog, Quebec, Magog at the junction of Route 112 (Quebec), Route 112 and its southern terminus is in Sta ...

). Local legend claims that a group of rather drunken surveyors, 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 Derby Line is an incorporated village in the town of Derby in Orleans County, Vermont, United States, slightly north of the 45th parallel, the nominal U.S.-Canada boundary. The population was 687 at the 2020 census. The village is located o ...

and

. Beebe Plain is located near

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

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 b. 1776 in Windsor, Vermont.

Features

The former

Massawippi Valley Railway The Massawippi Valley Railway was a short line railway established in 1870 between Lennoxville, Quebec, and the Vermont border. Part of the Quebec Central Railway from 1926, the line was abandoned in 1990 and removed in 1992. Most of the former ra ...

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. Lennoxvi ...

through a border crossing at Beebe Plain to Newport, Vermont. That line was abandoned and removed by the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1989–1991. 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 St,

US 5 U.S. Route 5 (US 5) is a north–south United States highway running through the New England states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Significant cities along the route include New Haven, Connecticut; Hartford, Connecticut; and Spring ...

) Newport as the Newport Bike Path. * Beebe Plain, Québec to

Ayer's Cliff Ayer's Cliff ( 2021 population 1,180) is a village municipality in the Memphrémagog Regional County Municipality in the Estrie region of Quebec. It is located just north of the Canada–United States border, on Lake Massawippi, near the mout ...

, 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 North Hatley is a village of 675 people (2021 Census), located at the north end of Lake Massawippi. It is part of the Memphrémagog Regional County Municipality in the Eastern Townships region of Quebec, Canada, also known as Estrie or Cantons de ...

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