| Woodstock | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| — Town — | |||
| On the Saint John River | |||
|
|||
| Nickname(s): Service center of the valley | |||
| Motto: New Brunswick’s first incorporated town | |||
|
|
|||
| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Canada | ||
| Province | New Brunswick | ||
| County | Carleton County | ||
| Incorporated | May 1, 1856 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Type | Town Council | ||
| • Mayor | Arthur Slipp | ||
| • Deputy Mayor | Catherine Sutherland | ||
| • Councillors | Andy Leech, James Cluff, Theresa Blackburn, Peter Kennedy, Geoff Stairs | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 13.41 km2 (5.2 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 36 to 85 m (118 to 279 ft) | ||
| Population (2006) | |||
| • Total | 5,113 | ||
| • Density | 381.2/km2 (987.3/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | AST (UTC-4) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | ADT (UTC-3) | ||
| Canadian Postal code | E7M | ||
| Area code(s) | 506 | ||
| Telephone Exchange(s) | 328, 325, 324, 612, 594 | ||
| NTS Map | 021J04 | ||
| GNBC Code | DAWNW | ||
| Website | http://town.woodstock.nb.ca | ||
Woodstock (2006 population: 5,113) is a Canadian town in Carleton County, New Brunswick located on the west bank of the Saint John River at the mouth of the Meduxnekeag River, 92 km west of Fredericton and close to the Canada – United States border and Houlton, Maine.
Contents |
Woodstock was settled by Loyalists following the American War of Independence. It was named for Woodstock Parish, established in 1786, which in turn was named for William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland and Viscount Woodstock, who was briefly British Prime Minister in 1783.
The upper limit of Loyalist grants on the river fell to members of Colonel DeLancey’s 1st Battalion New Jersey Volunteers, and the members that accepted the land moved there early in the summer of 1784. Three small settlements were formed in this new area named Woodstock and they were: the Upper Corner; the Creek Village; and Lower Woodstock.
When Carleton County first came into being in 1832, Upper Woodstock was made the shiretown due to the influence of Colonel Richard Ketchum who donated land for construction of public buildings. The Old Carleton County Court House is now an historic site, having been restored under the Carleton County Historical Society. However, after a bridge was built across the Meduxnekeag River, there was rapid growth of the Creek Village and this resulted in its being chosen as the Town of Woodstock.
Woodstock, incorporated in 1856, is the oldest incorporated town in New Brunswick. The first mayor was L.P. Fisher, who held office until his voluntary retirement some 24 years later. Being a great benefactor, he made provisions in his will for the building of several educational institutions, among them the first Agricultural and Vocational School in Canada, and the L. P. Fisher Public Library.
Charles Connell (1810 – June 28, 1873) was a Canadian politician from Woodstock, now remembered mainly for placing his image on a 5-cent postage stamp. His house, known as the Charles Connell House is now a museum run by the Carleton County Historical Society.
Another important landmark of Woodstock from as early as the 40s and 50s was the Capital Theatre which was run by one-time Woodstock mayor Edgar Neal. It was located on Queen Street which is now known as Capital Square, home of a residence area for community college students. When the theatre was first opened, someone had to be paid to play the piano during the silent films. It was also used for boxing matches and magic shows among many other things.
The first dam at the mouth of the Meduxnekeag River was built in 1886, and activated on December 1, 1886. It provided electric power for the town; inviting the beginning of industrial activity that included tanneries, carriage factories, a wool mill, sawmills and gristmills, two foundries producing stoves; furnaces and agricultural machinery, etc. Others followed.
The last dam was destroyed by an unusually high spring freshet, causing the spring flood of May 1, 1923.
Another unusually high spring freshet in early 1987 resulted in major damage to the Canadian Pacific Railway's trackage and a railway bridge in Upper Woodstock lost two spans. This hastened CPR's decision to abandon rail service to the area. Today the former railway right-of-way is one of Woodstock's walking trails.
On October 22, 1966, the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra made its debut in Woodstock.
Presently, Woodstock is the shopping centre for the surrounding area, being the closest town to the border. Downtown Woodstock remains the heart of the town. It has a number of new boutiques such as Miss Fancy Pants, Made You Blush, and the Fusion cafe. Uptown consists of several fast food chains, Carleton Mall and Atlantic Cinemas.
A campus of the New Brunswick Community College is located here. Woodstock is also home to the Woodstock Airport, a small public airport located in Grafton. This small community overlooks the St. John River, allowing people to get a view of Woodstock.
In 1995 the Town of Woodstock opened the Carleton Civic Centre. The multipurpose complexes houses 25 metre indoor pool, an 846 seat arena, a fitness centre, and community meeting rooms. The Woodstock Slammers of the Maritime Junior Hockey League play at the Civic Centre.
Woodstock is also the home to the annual Old Home Week fair, usually held at the fair grounds at Connell Park. During this time Woodstock traditionally hosts the Miss New Brunswick Pageant.[1]
In 2009, the River Valley Arts Alliance (RiVA) began hosting the Dooryard Arts Festival in downtown Woodstock. [2]
An Orange riot occurred in the town on July 12, 1847.[3][4]
Cholera struck in 1854. 15 died.[5]
A portion of Woodstock was burned on April 16, 1860.[6]
In 1861, the newly built railway between St. Andrews and Woodstock was seized by several hundred navvies, angry at not being paid. A peaceful settlement was later made personally by Arthur Hamilton-Gordon.[7]
Six acres of the town were consumed by fire on May 17, 1877. 85 buildings, mostly businesses were destroyed at a loss of $275,000.[8]
Woodstock is located on New Brunswick Route 2, an alignment of the Trans-Canada Highway. The shorter New Brunswick Route 95 extends westward from Woodstock to the Houlton/Woodstock Border Crossing, where it continues into the United States as Interstate 95.
Woodstock has a small set of media, consisting of a radio station and a newspaper, The Bugle-Observer. The community is also served by WAGM-TV in Presque Isle, Maine in addition to regional Global, CTV and CBC Television newsrooms in Fredericton and Saint John.
Woodstock's current radio station is 104.1 FM CJCJ, branded as CJ 104. In May 2009, the station name was changed to CJ 104, to reflect a shift in the type of music being played by the station, from light rock to contemporary.[9]
Woodstock has had at least 22 newspapers operating at one time or another. The first was the Carleton Sentinel, beginning in July 1848 and ending in March 1943, merging with The Press to form the Sentinel Press. The Sentinel Press ended publication on June 1971.
The Bugle-Observer is the town's biweekly newspaper, which is owned by the Irving family's Brunswick News. The paper went by the name of The Bugle for several years until it was sold to Brunswick News in 2003. Shortly thereafter, Brunswick News also bought the weekly paper in neighbouring town of Hartland, The Observer. The staff of the two papers were combined into one office in Woodstock, at first producing two separate issues. Later, the papers were combined under one name, Bugle-Observer, which publishes twice weekly on Tuesday and Friday.
An independent paper, the Carleton Free Press was launched on October 31, 2007. The paper was published by the former publisher of the Bugle-Observer, Kenneth Langdon, until its cessation on October 28, 2008.
The region has been the past center of iron working and mining.
Rock containing iron was discovered here in 1820, and in 1826 there was a report of low-grade iron ore. In 1848 operations began on some iron-manganese deposits, continuing until 1884.
Zinc, copper,[11] and lead have also been mined here.
Surassite has been found in the nearby Strategic Manganese Mine.[12][13]
Obsidian and other volcanic debris have been found in the area.
Source: Statistics Canada— 2001 Census – Dept. of Education
|
||||||||||||||