Stanstead


 * For Stansted Airport, see London Stansted Airport.

Stanstead is an incorporated municipality that comprises the three villages of Beebe Plain, Rock Island and Stanstead in the Eastern Townships of Quebec in Canada. The villages are notable primarily for being divided by the international boundary with the U.S. (part of Beebe is in Derby Line, Vermont, and part in Stanstead, Québec). The border splits a street ( CanUsa Street), a former tool-and-die factory (Butterfield's, Rock Island), a famous library and opera house (Haskell's) and a number of old houses right down the centre or center.

Understand
While the Canadian portion of these villages is majority francophone, this was historically United Empire Loyalist country and many of the original settlers therefore were English-speaking. It is common to hear both languages in use on the Canadian side. The same is not true in the US, even while in the same town.

The proximity of this region to the border (which divides the villages) meant that, before the tightened restrictions imposed in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the US, it was not uncommon for Canadian residents to make many small grocery or department store purchases in Newport (Vermont) as the closest town. While in a foreign country, Newport is geographically closer than Magog or Sherbrooke.

It is possible to make a local international telephone call between Beebe Plain (Rock Island, +1-819-876-) in Canada and Beebe Plain (Derby Line, +1-802-873-) in the US. Anything further into foreign territory is long distance.

Get in
For Americans wanting to get into Canada quickly, the Derby Line/Stanstead crossing is ideal. The wait at the border is much less than that at the major border station down by the highway. But don't be fooled by the absence of physical barriers running through the border. In fact, one street has some houses on the American side (Derby Line, Vermont) and the rest on the Canadian side (Stanstead). Don't cross Canusa street to visit your friend who lives right across you; you need to report to border agents (with valid passports and visas) before having a meal with them. Crossing the street without proper inspection into either side can put you in serious trouble with the authorities of the country you are trying to enter.

The lone exception is visiting the bi-national Haskell Free Library and opera house (purposely built to straddle the border). You must enter through the door on the American side (the back door is locked anyway). Once you exit the building, you must immediately return to the country you entered from.

Get around
As these are small villages, there is no public transit on either side. A car (une auto) would therefore be the most obvious option; there is also a cycling trail on what had been an international rail line before the railway tracks were removed in the 1990s.

Go next

 * Sherbrooke is the largest city in the region
 * Magog is winery and downhill ski country. This is a good area for horseback riding or viewing the fall colours.
 * Derby Line and Newport are small-town but local. (They are, however, foreign. Bring your passport.)