FATHER POINT
Father Point, near which the wreck of the Empress of Ireland occurred, is a small village on the south bank of the St. Lawrence, and ten miles distant from Rimouski, where the transatlantic mails are transferred. It stands high above the water, and on clear days can be seen from a distance of twenty miles.
In 1859 the first telegraph line was connected with this point, and Robert E. Easson was the first operator. It was the first point in Canada to receive old country news from the boats, and this was relayed to other parts. Messages for the old country were also wired there frequently and mailed on the boats.
The river in this neighborhood is approximately thirty miles wide. Rimouski is about 150 miles down the river from Quebec, and usually is reached in the early morning after an afternoon departure from Quebec.