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Woodstock, New Brunswick
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Woodstock (2006 pop.: 5,113) is a Canadian town in Carleton County, New Brunswick The town is located on the west bank of the Saint John River at the mouth of the Meduxnekeag River, 72 km west of Fredericton.
stock 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 Henry 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.
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Encyclopedia
Woodstock (2006 pop.: 5,113) is a Canadian town in Carleton County, New Brunswick The town is located on the west bank of the Saint John River at the mouth of the Meduxnekeag River, 72 km west of Fredericton.
History
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 Henry 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 Simply Dining and 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 c. 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 grist mills, 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.
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 beautiful 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 A 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.
Transportation
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.
Media
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 and CTV and CBC Television newsrooms in Fredericton and Saint John.
Radio
Woodstock's current radio station is 104.1 FM CJCJ, branded as EZ Rock.
Print
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.
Notable residents
- Edwin Tappan Adney, artist, writer, and photographer. Credited with saving the art of birch bark canoe construction.
- William Teel Baird, a pharmacist and militia officer
- Bartholomew Crannell Beardsley, lawyer, judge and political figure in Upper Canada and New Brunswick.
- Dalton Camp, Canadian journalist, politician, political strategist and commentator. Supporter of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada and a central figure in Red Toryism.
- Charles Connell, Canadian politician, now remembered mainly for placing his image on a 5-cent postage stamp.
- Frank Broadstreet Carvell, Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician.
- Harold Culbert, Member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1993 to 1997.
- Lewis P. Fisher, Woodstock's first mayor, served from the town's incorporation in 1856 until 1880
- George Gee, The first person to be hanged in Woodstock
- Myles Goodwyn, Guitarist, lead vocalist, main songwriter and founding member of the veteran Canadian hard rock band April Wine.. It should be noted that Goodwyn was born in Woodstock, but did not live here. This was confirmed by Goodwyn himself during April Wine's 2005 concert at the Carleton Civic Center.
- Richard Hatfield, New Brunswick politician and long time Premier of the province (1970-1987).
- Marcel Mason, Canadian Blogger and political activist
- Charlie Russell, former country music DJ for CJCJ. Member of the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame
- Minnie Bell Sharp, Conducted the Woodstock School of Music for several years and ran for Federal office as a Conservative in 1919 and 1925. Successfully sued the Woodstock school board after her arrest for non-payment of taxes.
- A. Edison Stairs, Canadian businessman and politician.
- Sid Veysey, Retired professional ice hockey centre who played 1 game in the National Hockey League in 1977
Mining
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, and lead have also been mined here.
Surassite has been found in the nearby Strategic Manganese Mine.
Statistics
- Population 15 yr. & over—County – 21,325
- Population—County – 27,184
- Population—Woodstock – 5,198
- Labour Force – 14,160
- Employed – 12,940
- Unemployed – 1,220
- Not in Labour Force – 7,160
- Unemployment Rate – 8.6%
- Participation Rate – 66.4%
- Bilingual Rate – 8.4%
- Annual High School Grads – 344
- Annual Community College Grads – 159
- Annual Community College Enrolment – 375
- High School Education (population) – 3,730
- College Education (population) – 2,690
- University Education (population) – 1,755
Source: Statistics Canada— 2001 Census - Dept. of Education
Historical population
- 1867 - approx 4300
- 1951 - 3,996
- 1971 - 4,846
- 1991 - 4,631
- 1996 - 5,092
- 1999 - 4,631
- 2001 - 5,198
- 2004 - 5,100
External links
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