DSWAC member John Scott, head of the heritage restoration masonry department at Algonquin College in Perth writes...
Covey Hill is the first dramatic surge of the Adirondack footills in the Eastern Townships of Quebec. The area was first settled by the French in the 1700's but the area received little population until Scotish loyalists in support of Britain came from New York and Vermont and planted apple trees in this fertile valley. Covey Hill is a massive sandstone deposit which is also scattered with glacial granite and sandstone boulders (the yellowish sandstone is one of only a few approved for replacement of rubble stone at parliament!). Early settlers cleared this land and relocated the stones into miles of interconnected perimeter walls to mark the apple orchards. Today, these walls and original apple trees add to the dramatic scenery and culture of the Eastern Townships.... a truly unique and Canadian contribution to our dry stone roots.
Picture: This former schoolhouse stands plumb and level on it's drystone foundation of Covey Hill sandstone.