At the beginning of the century, the development of agricultural activities and their resulting microbiological contamination meant the St. Francis River was no longer a reliable source of drinking water. The village of Lennoxville, whose municipal aqueduct drew from this source, had to find new solutions for its water supply.

The solution came in 1919 through the acquisition of land in the neighbouring township of Eaton and a plan to build a waterworks intake. A significant flow naturally gushed from Joseph Lavigne's land (hence the long-used name Lavigne's Springs).

To obtain all necessary powers associated with purchasing the land, and with the issuing of debentures totalling the $75 000 required to develop the waterworks intake and water transmission, the village council made a request to the provincial government to be incorporated under the Cities and Towns Act. On February 14, 1920, the Town of Lennoxville was born.

In 1921 Lennoxville began using the Eaton Township land as its main water supply. The original waterworks intake equipment is still there, as is the transmission network. In the beginning it was constructed entirely of wood pipes eight inches in diameter. Eight kilometres of these pipes carried the water from Johnville to the borders of Lennoxville solely via gravity - a testament to the creativity and skill of that era's engineers.
The Johnville bog's sponge-like water storage capacity constituted and still ensures a supply of drinking water. Over the years, additional properties were acquired to secure this water source. The Jenckes Lakes were bought in 1930 as well as properties that contain a small pond and part of the Racey Brook. A large part of the Johnville bog was bought in 1946. The Town of Lennoxville's willingness to protect its spring and the wetlands that feed it enabled preservation of part of the bog and surrounding forest and led to the formation of what is known today as the Johnville Bog & Forest Park.

The Johnville site remained Lennoxville's main source of drinking water until 1949, when artesian wells were built. Nevertheless, the facility was used until 1986 to help supply the town's aqueduct network. When the spring was finally abandoned, the View Point district, Alexander Galt Regional High School and some houses along the water transmission route continued to use this water supply.

Over the next few years, the Johnville Bog Conservation Corporation plans to complete research for a more complete picture of the history of the Johnville Bog and Forest Park and this phase in Lennoxville's history.