French Canadian migration into the Champlain Valley in Vermont and New York from the 1850s onward changed the landscape of the Northeast in significant and often subtle ways. As a substantial part of the labor force, Franco-Americans harvested the lumber and mined the stone that built the North Country of both states. They built elaborately appointed churches that served as cornerstones of their communities and a testament to their deep religious faith. They were professionals who ran businesses on the main streets of the bucolic villages and towns around Lake Champlain, as well as farmers and mill workers who eked out a life toiling in the dirt and in textile factories. They formed innumerable fraternal organizations and societies like the Union St. Jean Baptiste and the Champlain Chevaliers to preserve their culture and religion, often in the face of discrimination. The photographs in this volume document their vibrant heritage.
Kimberly Lamay Licursi is a historian and writer who has been researching her French Canadian ancestry for over 30 years. She is an adjunct instructor of American history at Siena College in Loudonville, New York. Celine Racine Paquette is founder and curator of the Samuel de Champlain History Center in Champlain, New York, and is active in the Racine Family Association, based in Québec.