Potton, Quebec

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Potton is a township of 1,700 people, part of the Memphrémagog Regional County Municipality in the Eastern Townships region of Quebec, 125km southeast of Montreal and next to the United States border, north of North Troy, Vermont. The main village in the township is Mansonville. Formerly a sleepy community best known for an unusual 19th-century round barn, Mansonville has experienced some growth and prosperity because of its proximity to the Owl's Head ski resort. Like many Eastern Townships and New England villages, Mansonville grew up around a water-powered mill which exploited a head of water above a fall on the North Branch of the Missisquoi River. The mill ceased operating with electrification in the early 20th century, which allowed economies of scale and centralized manufacturing in larger centres. It operated as a feed and grain mill until 2004, when it was destroyed by fire. Overlooking the mill site is the mansion of the Manson family that founded the town. The mansion has since become a bed and breakfast. Mansonville, like many Eastern Townships communities, has long had a mixture of French and English-speaking residents, as demonstrated by the presence of Roman Catholic, United and Anglican churches a few yards apart. Mansonville was also the improbable headquarters of a schismatic Russian Orthodox prelate, Metropolitan Vitaly Ustinov, for some five decades until his death in 2006.