LLEWELLYN SPINNEY'S & MRS ANITA GREARSON'S EXCERPTS FROM
MANUSCRIPT,
"EARLY HISTORY
OF ST.GEORGE"
BY THE LATE MRS. HENRY JOHNSTON*, ST. GEORGE
N.B. (1895-1961).
* MRS. JOHNSTON WAS EDUCATED IN ST. GEORGE AND WAS A GRADUATE OF FREDERICTON
NORMAL SCHOOL AS A SCHOOLTEACHER. SHE DIED AT SAINT JOHN AND IS BURIED
AT ST. GEORGE. SHE IS SURVIVED BY ONE DAUGHTER AND TWO SONS.
________________________________________________________________
IN 1691 THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT GRANTED
TO ONE JEAN MEUSNIEV LAND ON THE LOWER MAGAGUADAVIC RIVER.
THE UNITED STATES CLAIMED THE MAGAGUADAVIC WAS THE BOUNDARY
BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES. MAGAGUADAVIC IS AN OLD INDIAN NAME MEANING
RIVER OF "EELS". THE TOWN WAS AT ONE TIME CALLED MAGAGUADAVIC AND EVEN
TODAY OLD TIMERS SPEAK OF GOING UP AND DOWN TO MAGAGUADAVIC.
SOME OF THE EARLY FRENCHMEN IN CHARLOTTE COUNTY PLACED
A CROSS AT THE MOUTH OF THE RIVER, ST. CROIX, AND BLESSED THE LAND.
THE INDIANS TOLD THAT THE SAME FRENCHMEN PLACED A SIMILAR
CROSS AT PT. MIDJIC AT THE MOUTH OF THE MAGAGUADAVIC AND THIS IN AFTER YEARS
LED TO MUCH TROUBLE AND CONFUSION AS THE AMERICANS CLAIMED MAGAGUADAVIC
WAS THE REAL ST. CROIX AND WHEN THE LOYALISTS WERE FORCED TO MOVE TO THE
OTHER SIDE, THEY FOUNDED THIS FIRST ST. GEORGE SETTLEMENT DOWN RIVER.
THE ST. CROIX WAS DEFINITELY ESTABLISHED AS THE LINE IN 1798. A CANDLE WAS
PLACED IN A LANTERN AND HUNG ON A POST FOR A HARBOUR LIGHT TO GUIDE VESSELS
AT THE MOUTH OF THE MAGAGUADAVIC RIVER.
_________________________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE CHARLOTTE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
NO.21
_____________________________
"HISTORY OF ST. GEORGE"*
*PRESENTED TO CCHS AT 18 MARCH 1965 MEETING AT ST. GEORGE
BY ANITA G. (SPINNEY) GREARSON.
"INTRODUCTION"
THE FIRST RESIDENTS OF THIS AREA WERE
INDIANS OF COURSE. A DIVISION OF THE MALISEETS, CALLED THE PASSAMAQUODDIES,
OCCUPIED THE AREA BETWEEN THE
PASSAMAQUODDY BAY AND POINT LEPREAU.
NEXT CAME THE FRENCH; THE ST.CROIX SEIGNIORY WAS ESTABLISHED
IN 1632 AND THE NAMES, ISLE SAINT CROIX, LETANG, AND GRAND MANAN, CAME
DOWN TO US FROM
THAT TIME.
THEN CAME THE ENGLISH SETTLERS AROUND
1764. THE INFORMATION THAT I SHALL PRESENT ALL PERTAINS TO THIS LAST PERIOD, LOYALIST SETTLEMENTS.
"PRELUDES"
NOW A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE TIMES AND CONDITIONS
WHICH LED TO THE SETTLING OF ST. GEORGE. WHEN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY
WAR BROKE OUT THOSE WHO WISHED TO REMAIN LOYAL TO BRITAIN FORMED THEIR
OWN REGIMENT AND SERVED IN THE AMERICAN COLONIES SIDE BY SIDE WITH REGIMENTS
FROM BRITAIN. THEY WERE VERY IMPORTANT TO THE BRITISH AS THEY KNEW THE
COUNTRY
SO WELL. THE NAMES OF SOME OF THESE REGIMENTS WERE: BUTLER'S RANGERS, QUEEN'S
RANGERS, ORANGE RANGER'S, AND THE ROMAN CATHOLIC VOLUNTEERS. IN ALL THERE
WERE OVER FIFTY OF THESE LOYALIST UNITS.
AFTER THE BRITISH DEFEAT AND THE SIGNING OF THE TREATY
OF VERSAILLES IN 1783, MANY OF THE LOYALISTS, AS THEY WERE CALLED, WISHED
TO GO WHERE THEY MIGHT LIVE UNDER THE BRITISH FLAG. AMONG THEIR LEADERS
WAS PETER CLINCH (OR
CLYNCH AS IT WAS SPELLED THEN) WHO WAS BORN IN IRELAND AND EDUCATED AT
TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN. HE HAD COME TO AMERICA BEFORE THE OUTBREAK OF
THE AMERICAN
REVOLUTION, WAS GAZETTED A LIEUTENANT IN THE ROYAL FENCIBLE AMERICANS ON
MAY 15,1776. SHORTLY AFTERWARD HE WAS APPOINTED ADJUTANT OF THE CORPS.
THE WAR BEING OVER, HIS REGIMENT WAS DISBANDED AND HE WAS PUT IN
CHARGE OF A PARTY OF SOLDIER, SETTLERS WHO WERE SENT TO COLONIZE THE "HOWLING
WILDERNESS".
"CLINCH'S LANDING AND GRANT"
DIFFICULTY IN FINDING A VESSEL TO TAKE CLINCH AND HIS FELLOW
SETTLERS FROM NEW ENGLAND TO THIS AREA WAS OVERCOME. ON 10 NOV.1783, THEY
LANDED AT THE "MOUTH" OF THE MAGAGUADAVIC WHERE THERE WERE NEITHER HOUSES
NOR HABITANTS TO GREET THEM. IT IS NOT CLEAR FROM THE RECORDS WHETHER "MOUTH"
REFERS TO THE OUTFALL OF THE RIVER INTO THE BASIN JUST BELOW THE FALLS
OR TO THE MOUTH OF THE ESTUARY AT MIDJIC POINT.
TRADITION SAYS THAT THE CAPTAIN OF THE VESSEL, SEEING SUCH AN INHOSPITABLE
PLACE, QUICKLY LEFT, FEARING THE MEN WOULD WANT TO RETURN WITH HIM. THAT
NIGHT THE MEN SLEPT IN THE OPEN AND IT SNOWED SO HARD THAT THEY
HAD SOME DIFFICULTY REMOVING THE BLANKETS NEXT MORNING. THE WEATHER WAS
SO SEVERE THAT THE SETTLERS MOVED ON TO SAINT JOHN FOR THE WINTER AND RETURNED
THE FOLLOWING SPRING.
ACCORDING TO JOHNSON (APPENDIX) HUGH McKAY WAS WITH
THEM ON THIS RETURN. GOVERNOR PARR, WHO HAD BEEN A LT. COLONEL IN THE TWENTIETH
FOOT SEEMED TO HAVE WISHED TO OBLIGE A FELLOW OFFICER WHEN HE COULD. AND
ONE OF THE FIRST PASSAMAQUODDY GRANTS MADE BY HIM WAS TO PETER CLINCH. THIS
GRANT, DATED 20 FEBRUARY 1874. CONVEYED TO PETER THE LAND ADJOINING THE
JOHN MASCARENE GRANT (1767). THE "POINT OF BEGINNING" AS DESCRIBED IN THE
SURVEY IS IN ST. GEORGE ON THE BANK OF THE MAGAGUADAVIC RIVER (ABOUT WHERE
TOY'S HOUSE NOW STANDS). FROM THERE THE BOUNDARY RUNS EAST TO THE LETANG
RIVER, THEN SOUTH TO THE CHANNEL OF THE LETANG RIVER, THEN WEST ALONG MOUNT
PLEASANT STREET UNTIL IT REACHES THE MAGAGUADAVIC AND FROM THERE IT FOLLOWS
THE SHORE OF THE RIVER TO THE PLACE OF BEGINNING. THIS LINE WAS RUN BY
DEPUTY BUFFINGTON IN 1786. THUS THE LOYALISTS UNDER CLINCH, THE FENCIBLE
AMERICANS, AS THEY WERE CALLED, WERE ASSIGNED LAND NEAR THE FALLS.
AND THE SETTLEMENT WHICH WAS DEVELOPED THERE BECAME KNOWN AS MAGAGUADAVIC.
PETER CLINCH'S HOMESTEAD WAS ON MOUNT PLEASANT STREET JUST OPPOSITE THE
HOUSE NOW OWNED BY HUGH MATTHESON. THE ONLY PART OF THE
GRANT STILL IN THE CLINCH NAME IS THE 15 ACRE LOT OWNED BY JOSEPH CLINCH.
"HUGH McKAY"
NOW WE MUST BRING ANOTHER IMPORTANT CHARACTER
INTO THE PICTURE, HUGH McKAY. HE WAS BORN IN SUTHERLAND SHIRE, SCOTLAND,
IN 1751. HE CAME OUT TO AMERICA BEFORE THE WAR. WHEN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR
BROKE OUT HE BECAME A LIEUTENANT IN THE QUEEN'S RANGERS AND SERVED UNTIL
THE END OF THE WAR. HE, TOO, WITH A FEW DISBANDED PROVINCIALS AND
LOYALISTS, LEFT NEW ENGLAND TO COLONIZE THIS AREA. HE CHOSE THE DISTRICT
ABOUT THE FALLS. HE RECEIVED HIS GRANT IN 1786.
BY THIS TIME QUAKERS FROM PHILADELPHIA UNDER THEIR LEADER, JOSHUA
KNIGHT, HAD ALREADY SETTLED AT BEAVER HARBOUR AND ANOTHER LOYALIST SETTLEMENT
HAD ALSO APPEARED. IT WAS JUST WEST OF BEAVER HARBOUR AND LOCATED ON THE
LETANG PENINSULA
OPPOSITE FRY'S ISLAND. BY 1784, THERE WERE 108 MEN, 40 WOMEN AND 54 CHILDREN
REPORTED TO BE LIVING ON THE PENINSULA. AND IN 1786 IT WAS LAID OUT
AS A TOWN AND NAMED ST. GEORGE.
THIS FIRST ST. GEORGE IS SHOWN ON SOME OF THE EARLY MAPS
AND CHARTS, e.g.
UNITED STATES HYDROGRAPHIC OFFICE CHART 1247; PUBLISHED IN 1891. IT HAD
128 TOWN LOTS AND 25 GARDEN LOTS. IT WAS GRANTED TO JOHN McLEOD AND 152
OTHERS. IN THIS TOWN LIVED CAPT. BAILEY, LT. CAMPBELL AND MANY OTHERS. IN
1790 A FOREST FIRE SWEPT THROUGH THE QUAKER SETTLEMENT. THE SAME FIRE DESTROYED
ST. GEORGE. THUS IT WAS THAT THE FIRST ST. GEORGE CAME TO AN END AND MANY
DISCOURAGED PEOPLE LEFT THE AREA FOR FAR AWAY PLACES.
"THE NEW ST. GEORGE"
THE FEW INHABITANTS OF THE FIRST ST. GEORGE
WHO REMAINED IN THE AREA SOON MOVED TO THE FALLS ON THE MAGAGUADAVIC RIVER
WHERE THE QUEEN'S RANGERS UNDER HUGH McKAY AND PETER CLINCH AND HIS FENCIBLE
AMERICAN FOLLOWERS WERE ESTABLISHED. THEY HAD TAKEN
ADVANTAGE OF A GOOD HARBOUR, THE FALLS AND THE MEADOWS AND HAD CREATED
A VIGOROUS SETTLEMENT KNOWN AS MAGAGUADAVIC. BUT THE NEWCOMERS BROUGHT
THE NAME OF THEIR BURNED TOWN WITH THEM AND MAGAGUADAVIC BECAME KNOWN AS
ST. GEORGE. THUS ALTHOUGH IT MAY BE SAID THAT ST. GEORGE WAS FOUNDED
IN 1784 AND SURVEYED IN 1786, IT WAITED SEVERAL YEARS TO GET ITS PRESENT
NAME. NO DOUBT THIS NAME WAS SUGGESTED BY THE PRESENCE OF OTHER TOWNS IN
THE AREA WHICH WERE NAMED AFTER SAINTS, PARTICULARLY ST. ANDREWS.
"MORE ABOUT HUGH McKAY"
AS I HAVE MENTIONED, HUGH McKAY'S GRANT WAS A NARROW STRIP
FROM ABOUT DOUG MAXWELL'S ON THE BONNY RIVER ROAD TO THE PENNFIELD PARISH
LINE ACROSS LAKE UTOPIA AND NORTH OF THE RAILROAD. ALSO, A GRANT OF 500
ACRES IN THE TROUT BROOK AREA, AND 500 ACRES IN THE RED ROCK AREA.
HUGH McKAY WAS A MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY FOR
MORE THAN THIRTY YEARS, AND WAS A COLONEL OF THE MILITIA FOR 50 YEARS AND
SENIOR JUSTICE OF THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS FOR CHARLOTTE. HE DIED AT HIS
RESIDENCE, SUTHER HALL, BONNY RIVER, JAN.28,1848 AT THE AGE OF 96. AT HIS
DEATH HE WAS THE OLDEST AND ONLY FULL COLONEL OF THE MILITIA IN THE PROVINCE,
BEING COLONEL COMMANDANT OF THE CHARLOTTE COUNTY MILITIA AND ALSO THE OLDEST
HALF PAY OFFICER IN THE PROVINCE, BEING ON THE HALF PAY OF THE OLD 60TH
AMERICAN RANGERS SINCE 1793. HIS GRAVESTONE IS IN ST. MARK'S CEMETERY.
"MORE ABOUT PETER CLINCH"
NOW TO RETURN TO PETER CLINCH, BACK TO
FEB.1793, WHEN HE WAS LIVING IN THE NEW ST. GEORGE. ON THAT
DATE A DISPATCH ARRIVED FROM LONDON FOR GOVERNOR THOMAS CARLETON, INSTRUCTING
HIM TO RAISE A CORPS NOT EXCEEDING 600 MEN TO BE A PROVINCIAL UNIT WHICH
WOULD SERVE IN NEW BRUNSWICK. ALL OFFICERS WERE TO BE RECRUITED FROM THE
HALF PAY OFFICERS OF FORMER LOYALIST REGIMENTS WHO WERE VETERANS OF THE
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. IN JULY, GOVERNOR CARLETON REPORTED TO LONDON THAT
200 MEN HAD ENLISTED IN THE CORPS. IT COMPRISED SIX COMPANIES. ONE COMPANY
WAS RAISED BY PETER CLINCH AND WAS MADE UP ALMOST ENTIRELY OF CHARLOTTE
COUNTY MEN. THE REST OF THE PERSONNEL WERE RECRUITED MAINLY IN FREDERICTON
AND ST. JOHN AND FROM SETTLEMENTS ALONG THE ST. JOHN RIVER. ALTOGETHER 400
MEN WERE RECRUITED. CAPTAIN CLINCH AND HIS COMPANY WERE SENT TO ST. ANDREW'S
TO PROTECT THE WESTERN BORDER.
IN 1799 THESE UNITS WERE CHANGED FROM A PROVINCIAL TO
A FENCIBLE CORPS. THE CHANGE SIGNIFIED THAT THE REGIMENT COULD BE
CALLED UPON TO SERVE ANYWHERE IN NORTH AMERICA. THEY SOON BECAME KNOWN
AS THE ROYAL NEW BRUNSWICK REGIMENT AND LATER THIS NAME WAS OFFICIALLY
ADOPTED. AFTER THE TREATY OF AMIENS, MARCH 27, 1802 THE OUTLYING DETACHMENTS
WERE CALLED TO FREDERICTON AND DISCHARGED, AND HEADQUARTERS AT FORT HOWE
WERE DISBANDED.
PETER CLINCH BECAME A VERY PROMINENT MAN IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS.
HE WAS FOR MANY YEARS A REPRESENTATIVE OF CHARLOTTE COUNTY IN THE HOUSE
OF ASSEMBLY. HE DIED ON JULY 31 1816, AT THE AGE OF 63 YEARS. HIS
WIFE LUCRETIA, AGE 44 YEARS, DIED THE DAY PRECEDING HIM. PETER'S
GRAVESTONE IS IN ST. MARK'S CEMETERY .
"OTHER SETTLERS"
OTHERS WHO RECEIVED LARGE GRANTS AROUND THIS
TIME WERE HUGH McCALLUM, HUGH FLAHERTY, REV. S. THOMPSON, DR. EDWARD DeWOLFE, DR. CHARLES
REID, PETER DWYER, SAMUEL WALLACE, GEORGE TROKE, CAPT. PETER BAILEY, MAJOR
ROBERT STANNUS, AND I'M SURE THEY ALL PLAYED A BIG PART IN THE HISTORY
OF OUR
AREA.
"EARLY
SCHOOLS"
"MADRAS SCHOOL"
THE FIRST SCHOOL IN THIS AREA WAS THE MADRAS
SCHOOL IN 1823, RUN BY THE ANGLICAN CHURCH IN A BUILDING WHERE FRANK SPINNEY'S
STORE NOW STANDS. THE
FIRST TEACHER WAS MASTER GREY; HE HAD 40 PUPILS AND RECEIVED 15 POUNDS A
YEAR FROM ENGLAND.
"PRIVATE SCHOOL"
THE NEXT SCHOOL MENTIONED WAS IN THE MOWATT OR McKENZIE HOUSE
ABOUT 1840, STILL STANDING BESIDE THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. CLASSES WERE
HELD IN A ROOM OF THE HOUSE AND TAUGHT BY MRS. MOWATT. THIS WAS SAID TO
BE A PRIVATE SCHOOL.
"CATHOLIC SCHOOL"
SCHOOL WAS ALSO HELD IN THE DRAGEORIAN HALL. THE BUILDING WAS
OWNED BY THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH AND HAS SINCE BEEN TORN DOWN. MASTER
THOMAS O'MALLEY WAS THE TEACHER.
"LOWER BRIDGE SCHOOL"
A LITTLE LATER, SCHOOL WAS ALSO HELD IN A BUILDING NEAR THE
LOWER BRIDGE IN A FIELD BELOW WM. HOYT'S HOUSE. A MRS. DUNHAM, A DAUGHTER
OF MR.& MRS. R. H. DAVIS, TAUGHT HERE ABOUT 1880. JENNIE MAGOWAN ALSO
TAUGHT HERE.
"MORIN SHOP SCHOOL"
ABOUT 1882, SCHOOL WAS ALSO HELD IN A ROOM OF THE MORIN SHOP,
ON THE SITE OF THE OLD HERON BUILDING ON THE LOWER STREET. THE TEACHER
WAS MARY MAGOWAN.
"TEMPERANCE HALL SCHOOL"
THERE WAS ANOTHER SCHOOL IN THE TEMPERANCE HALL BUILDING BELOW
RUBIN'S STORE, TAUGHT BY MARY MAGOWAN. WE ARE NOT SURE OF THE DATE SHE
TAUGHT THERE BUT IT WAS BEFORE 1884.
"LANE SCHOOL"
THE LAST OF THE EARLY SCHOOLS WAS HELD IN A BUILDING ON THE
LANE BEHIND MAURICE RUBIN'S HOUSE NEAR THE OLD BARRY HOUSE. THE TEACHER
WAS ELIZA MAGOWAN. THIS BUILDING WAS LATER TORN DOWN AND LATER REBUILT
INTO A HOUSE IN L'ETANG.
"SCHOOLS IN 1884"
FINALLY IN 1884, THERE WERE ONLY FOUR SCHOOLS.
GRADES ONE AND TWO WERE TAUGHT BY MARY MAGOWAN IN THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND
BUILDING (SOLD TO DR. TAYLOR IN 1889); GRADES THREE AND FOUR MET IN THE
ROMAN CATHOLIC BUILDING AND WERE TAUGHT BY THOMAS O'MALLEY; GRADES FIVE
AND SIX IN THE BUILDING IN THE LANE BEHIND MAURICE RUBIN'S WERE TAUGHT
BY ELIZA MAGOWAN AND THE HIGH SCHOOL MET OVER FRAWLEY'S STORE (ST. GEORGE
PHARMACY BUILDING). IT BURNED DOWN LATER. THE PRINCIPAL WAS WARREN DYKEMAN.
OTHER TEACHERS WHO TAUGHT PRIOR TO 1889 WERE L. A. CURRY, GEORGE A. INCH,
ELIZA KNIGHT, WELLINGTON CAMP, GEORGE W. HOBEN, TILLEY DUNHAM, MR. R. H. DAVIS.
MR. INCH LATER BECAME A MATHEMATICS TEACHER IN THE NORMAL SCHOOL. ANOTHER
TEACHER WAS A MR. TAYTE, WHO WAS ONE OF THE REAL EARLY TEACHERS, AND WAS
A GREAT GRANDFATHER OF THE LATE P. G. TAYTE. I MIGHT STATE THAT SCHOOL TERMS
THEN ENDED IN APRIL AND OCTOBER.
"NEW SCHOOL 1889"
IN JANUARY 1889, THE FOUR SCHOOLS WERE PUT
INTO ONE
BUILDING WHICH WAS CALLED THE NEW SCHOOL HOUSE, NOW THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
(WHERE THE TOWN HALL NOW STANDS). GEORGE M. JOHNSTON WAS THE FIRST PRINCIPAL
OF THE NEW SCHOOL AND CHARLES JOHNSTON WAS THE SECRETARY OF THE SCHOOL
TRUSTEES. MR. GEORGE JOHNSTON REMAINED PRINCIPAL UNTIL HE DIED IN DECEMBER
1906. THE REST OF THE TERM TILL JUNE WAS FILLED BY THE LATE L. H. BALDWIN.
IN SEPTEMBER 1907 THOMAS L. SIMMONS (WHO MARRIED A WINNIFRED DICK OF THIS
TOWN) BECAME PRINCIPAL. SOME OF THOSE WHO FOLLOWED HIM AS PRINCIPAL WERE
WM. VESEY; MR. SINCLAIRE; CHARLES J. CALLAGHAN; MISS IDA SMITH AND MR. MERSEREAU.
IN 1920 L. H. BALDWIN BECAME PRINCIPAL AND HELD THIS POST UNTIL JUNE 30, 1942. HE
HAD 263 GRADUATES FROM HIS CLASSES.
IN 1907 OR 1908 A TWO ROOM ANNEX WAS ADDED TO THE NEW
SCHOOL BUILDING WHICH THEN HAD A TOTAL OF SIX TEACHERS. TWO MORE ROOMS
AND TEACHERS WERE ADDED IN 1964.
"RECENTLY BUILT SCHOOLS"
THE EASTERN CHARLOTTE REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL (E. C. R. S.) WAS BUILT
IN 1949. IT TOOK IN GRADES SIX AND UP. IN 1962 ANOTHER SCHOOL WAS
BUILT FOR THE JUNIOR HIGH.
E. C. R. S. NOW HOUSES ONLY SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL (GRADES 9-12) AND VOCATIONAL
CLASSES. THUS TODAY ST. GEORGE HAS THREE SCHOOL BUILDINGS WITH A TOTAL OF
33 TEACHERS.
"CHURCHES"
THE FIRST CHURCH OF ENGLAND WAS BUILT IN 1821,WITH THE REV. S. THOMPSON
AS THE FIRST MINISTER. THIS BUILDING WAS TORN DOWN AND THE PRESENT ONE
ERECTED IN 1907. THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH WAS BUILT IN 1845.
"POST OFFICES"
AN EARLY POST OFFICE WAS HELD IN THE HOME OF MR. G. KNIGHT BESIDE
THE PRESENT POST OFFICE BUILDING. HE VACATED THE POST OFFICE ON DECEMBER
9 1871.
THE FIRST SEPARATE POST OFFICE BUILDING WAS WHERE FOWLER'S STORE WAS (NOW
THE TOWN PARKING LOT) AND THE POST MASTER WAS NED O'BRIAN (1872-1905).
THEN MISS P. O'BRIAN AND TIM O'BRIAN TOOK OVER. IN 1914 HECTOR McKENZIE
WAS POST MASTER, HELEN McMULLIN BECAME ASSISTANT. IN 1915 THE POST
OFFICE
MOVED TO THE OLD BANK BUILDING ON PORTAGE STREET BELOW RUBIN'S STORE.
THIS BUILDING BURNED DOWN AND THE POST OFFICE WENT ACROSS THE STREET TO
THE McGRATTEN BUILDING , IN DECEMBER 1916. IN DECEMBER 1930 HELEN McMILLAN
BECAME POST MISTRESS.
ON AUGUST 27 1936 THE PRESENT POST OFFICE BUILDING CAME INTO USE. MISS McMULLIN CONTINUED AS POST MISTRESS UNTIL 1962.THEN MISS E. L. O'BRIAN BECAME
POST MISTRESS. AFTER SHE RETIRED IN 1977 FRANK ROGERS OF SAINT JOHN WAS
POST MASTER UNTIL HIS DEATH IN 1984. ANITA GREARSON BECAME POST MISTRESS
UNTIL SHE RETIRED IN 1989 THEN VERNON McNICHOL OF ST. ANDREWS BECAME POST
MASTER AND STILL IS IN 1993.
"MAGISTRATE"
THE FIRST MAGISTRATE IN THIS AREA WAS MOSES VERNON WHO LIVED
WHERE DAN WOODBURY LIVES.
"BANKS"
THE FIRST BANK HERE WAS THE BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA OPENING ON MAY
15 1903 WITH H. H. JOHNSTON AS MANAGER. THEY BORROWED A FEW BOOKS FROM ST. STEPHEN
TO OPEN WITH. THE FIRST JUNIOR WAS FRANK GREARSON ENTERING THE BANK MAY
18, 1903. IT WAS PART OF THE BUILDING THAT STOOD ON PORTAGE STREET NEAR
THE LOWER CORNER. THE PRESENT BANK WAS BUILT AND OCCUPIED IN 1915.
"INCORPORATION"
ST. GEORGE BECAME INCORPORATED ON NOVEMBER 8 1904 WITH FRED DEWAR
AS FIRST MAYOR. PETER CLINCH WAS THE TOWN'S LEADING CITIZEN AND REPRESENTED
THE COUNTY IN THE FIRST LEGISLATURE AT SAINT JOHN IN 1785. WHEN THE PROVINCE
WAS DIVIDED INTO 8 COUNTIES AND THE NAME CHARLOTTE COUNTY WAS GIVEN IN
HONOUR OF THE QUEEN, WIFE OF GEORGE 3RD.
HE HAD COME TO SAINT JOHN IN MAY 1783 WITH THE DEVOTED AND OF UNITED EMPIRE
LOYALISTS WHO FOUNDED THE CITY OF SAINT JOHN. THE SUMMER THERE SLIPPED
BUSILY AWAY AND WHEN ON THE DISTANT HILLS CAME THE MISTS OF INDIAN
SUMMER THE INFLUENCE OF THE SEASON LAID A SPELL ON THE MEN AND THEY PAUSED
TO REST. TRUE TO THE WORDS OF THE POET , "THERE IS SOMETHING IN OCTOBER
SETS THE GYPSY BLOOD ASTIR", AND TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE AUTUMN LULL, CLINCH
SET OUT ONE FINE MORNING WITH TWO INDIAN GUIDES TO FIND HIS OWN PRIVATE
GRANT. IT WAS LATE AFTERNOON OF THE NEXT DAY THAT HE LANDED AT THE
FOOT OF WHAT IS NOW CALLED CLINCH STREET ON THE BANK BELOW WHERE
NOW STANDS THE HOME OF MERLE MEATING. THIS STREET IS THE ONLY REMINDER
OF OUR FOUNDER AND WE DO
HOPE IT WILL EVER REMAIN CLINCH STREET.
ON THE BANK OF THE L'ETANG RIVER
IS A FIELD CALLED THE CLINCH FIELD ON THE PROPERTY OF MRS. HENRY FALOON,
ALSO NAMED IN HONOUR OF THIS MAN. THE EVENING ON CLINCH'S LANDING
SET IN COLD AND STORMY, AND THE ROAR OF RAINBOW FALLS, AND THE WIND HOWLING
IN THE TREES WERE VERY DISHEARTENING AND WHO KNOWS, MAYBE A FEW REDSKINS
WITH THEIR TOMAHAWKS AND BLOOD CURDLING YELLS, EXCITED BY THE LANDING OF
THE STRANGE BOAT AND ITS PALE FACED PASSENGERS, ALL HELPED. AFTER
AN UNCOMFORTABLE NIGHT PETER CLINCH DECIDED TO RETURN TO THE SETTLEMENT
AT SAINT JOHN AND SPEND THE WINTER. BUT HE WAS IMPRESSED WITH THE BEAUTY
OF IT ALL FOR IN THE EARLY SPRING OF 1784 HE SET SAIL FOR HIS GRANT, BRINGING
WITH HIM SEVERAL OTHERS BESIDES HIS FAMILY. AMONG THEM WAS ONE CAPT. BAILEY
(PHILLIP), MOSES VERNON, ENSIGN JUS. McNALEB, JOHNATHAN WALLACE, PAUL BUMPTON,
JAMES TROAK, MR. SHAW AND HUGH McKAY.
THESE SOLDIERS WHO WERE GIVEN GRANTS, WERE SUPPLIED WITH BOARDS, NAILS,
GLASS, AXE, SPADE, FOOD AND CLOTHING FOR THREE YEARS AND A SMALL SUM OF
MONEY. SO ARMED WITH THESE SCANTY SUPPLIES AND AN ABUNDANCE OF COURAGE,
PETER CLINCH AND HIS ASSOCIATES SET OUT TO BUILD THEMSELVES HOMES IN THE
WILDERNESS. THEY LOOKED HOPEFULLY AND OPTIMISTICALLY INTO THE FUTURE AND
SAW IN THAT COLD, UNFRIENDLY FOREST THE GERM FROM WHICH MIGHT SPRING A
THRIVING TOWN, CULTIVATED FARMS AND A FLOURISHING TRADE. WHERE THEY BUILT
THEIR HOMES IS UNCERTAIN BUT LOG HOMES DOTTED THE HILLSIDE FROM SALT TO
FRESH WATER. WHEREVER THEY COULD FIND GOOD DRINKING WATER, SPRINGS,
OLD HIDDEN WELLS ARE UNCOVERED TODAY. THE FIRST FRAME HOUSE WAS BUILT BY
PETER CLINCH ON CLINCH STREET, BETWEEN WHERE NOW STANDS THE HOME OF CHARLES
WRIGHT AND CECIL LELAND (WHERE RAWLEIGH WENTWORTH'S HOUSE NOW STANDS) AND
TORN DOWN SOME 50 YEARS AGO.
"CHURCHES"
AFTER PROVIDING THEMSELVES WITH HOMES THE PEOPLE BUILT THEMSELVES
A PLACE OF WORSHIP THROUGH THE EFFORTS OF PETER CLINCH. THE FIRST CHURCH
WAS BUILT IN 1790, AND SERVED PEOPLE OF ALL FAITHS. IT WAS CALLED THE UNION
CHURCH. THEN FOR SOME YEARS IT WAS USED BY THE BAPTISTS. THIS CHURCH IS
ONE OF THE OLDEST IN CANADA AND IS USED BY THE PRESBYTERIANS. IT IS WELL
CARED FOR AND VERY QUAINT. BEHIND ITS QUIET WALLS IS A SMALL GRAVE YARD
WHERE
LIES THE FIRST BABY BORN IN ST. GEORGE, A SMALL LOYALIST OFFSPRING. A SMALL
STONE BEARS THE INSCRIPTION"MOSES
SHAW" AND THE LITTLE VERSE, WHICH TELLS ITS OWN STORY IS AS FOLLOWS:
"WITH FITS OF CONVULSIONS
MY DAYS ARE BUT SEVEN
CHRIST DIED FOR SINNERS
AND TOOK ME TO HEAVEN".
THE FIRST MASS HELD IN ST. GEORGE WAS IN THE HOME OF MR. McLACHLAN ON MOUNT
PLEASANT (NEAR THE HOME OF ARNOLD DODDS). THE FIRST ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
WAS BUILT IN 1854. IN THESE EARLY DAYS, IN ORDER TO RAISE MONEY FOR THE
CHURCH, PEOPLE PAID FOR THEIR OWN FAMILY PEWS. FOR EXAMPLE, JOHN MANN SR.
ON THE SEVENTH DAY OF MAY 1858 PAID THE SUM OF 5 POUNDS FOR THE PEW #11
IN THE BAPTIST CHURCH. TO HAVE AND TO HOLD THE SAID PEW BY THE SAID JOHN
MANN SR. HIS EXECUTORS AND ASSIGNS FOREVER. IT WAS USUALLY UNDERSTOOD
THAT A BURIAL PLOT IN THE CHURCH WENT ALONG WITH THE PEW. SPEAKING
OF GRAVEYARDS, IN BACK OF TROAKS MOUNTAIN ARE A FEW GRAVES SUPPOSED TO
BE THOSE OF SOME OF OUR EARLY INDIANS WHO DIED WITH SMALLPOX. THEIR
GRAVES HAVE BEEN KINDLY CARED FOR BY PEOPLE LIVING NEARBY.
"INDUSTRIES"
IN 1790 MOSES SHAW, WHO CAME WITH CLINCH,
BUILT A SAWMILL BELOW THE FALLS NEAR THE SITE OF OUR PRESENT MILL AND IN
THE SAME YEAR CLINCH DEEDED
TO ANTHONY CARPENTER LAND ON THE WESTERN SIDE OF THE RIVER TO BUILD A MILL.
BY 1833 A SURVEY BY WM. MAHOOD SHOWS THAT THERE WERE 10 SAW MILLS IN THIS
GULLY. THERE WERE ALSO COOK HOUSES TO FEED THE LARGE NUMBER OF MEN EMPLOYED. THE
LUMBER FROM CARPENTER'S MILL WAS RUN THROUGH A SLUICE DOWN
BY THE PRESENT LOWER BRIDGE TO CANNON BALL ROCK WHERE IT WAS LOADED INTO
VESSELS.
THERE WERE 5 SHIPYARDS IN OPERATION IN ST. GEORGE IN THE LATE 1800'S. ALL
WERE SITUATED AROUND THE BASIN IN DIFFERENT PLACES.
PETER CLINCH OPERATED THE FIRST STORE LOCATED DOWN NEAR THE WHARF, WHICH
LATER BECAME THE HOME OF MAJOR BRAULEY (PRESENT HOME OF BARRY SHEENAN).
RICHARD McGEE, ANOTHER EARLY SETTLER, BUILT A STORE WHERE THE JOHN AUSTIN
IS (CORNER OF PORTAGE AND GEORGE STREET).
JOHN WALLACE WAS THE FIRST SHOEMAKER
RECORDED IN THIS TOWN (ABOUT 1850).
IN 1859, A POWDER MILL WAS BUILT ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE BASIN BUT WAS
BLOWN UP WITH NO LOSS OF LIFE. A SECOND WAS BUILT AND MET THE SAME FATE.
THE STORE IN CONNECTION WITH THE BAY OF FUNDY GRANITE SHED WAS BUILT IN
1873, THE SHED ITSELF IN 1874. THE SHED WAS BUILT BY A COMPANY OF MEN FROM
SCOTLAND; AMONG THEM WAS MR. A. TAYLOR, A. MILNE AND MR. W. COUTTS. AT FIRST
THE RED GRANITE WAS MOST POPULAR, THEN GREY, THEN BLACK. IN 1872, THE BAY
OF FUNDY GRANITE COMPANY WAS BACKED BY NEW YORK CAPITAL. IT BUILT A LARGE
FINISHING PLANT AT THE FALLS, SAID TO HAVE COST $75,000. THIS PLANT WORKED
BY DAY AND NIGHT SENDING 75% OF IT'S PRODUCT TO THE UNITED STATES AND EMPLOYING
ABOUT 300 MEN. THEY SUPPLIED GRANITE FOR THE BUILDING OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC
CATHEDRAL IN BOSTON, THE PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS IN OTTAWA, SAINT JOHN POST
OFFICE, THE MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY IN NEW YORK. OUR
PRESENT POST OFFICE
IS MADE OF LOCAL GRANITE.
IN 1901, AN AMERICAN COMPANY FROM NEW YORK BOUGHT THE RIGHT TO BUILD A
PULP MILL BELOW THE FALLS AND PROMISED TO SUPPLY POWER TO THE STONE SHEDS
FOR 99 YEARS. THEY BOUGHT ALL THE LUMBER HOLDINGS OF JOHN DEWAR AND SONS
WHO HAD OPERATED A LUMBER MILL SINCE 1861. THE FIRST SHEET OF PULP WAS
TAKEN OFF THE HYDRAULIC PRESS IN 1903, MAKING FROM 15 TO 18 TONS DAILY.
THEY OPERATED TWO SHIFTS, ONE OF 11 HOURS AND ONE OF 13, PAYING WAGES OF
$10.50 A WEEK. THE COMPANY MANAGER WAS E. G. MURPHY; RIVER AND WOODS FOREMAN
MR. FULLER, MILL SUPERINTENDENT OCTAVE PLUDE, OFFICE MANAGER A. C. TOY.
ST. GEORGE HAD A WEEKLY NEWSPAPER, STARTED ABOUT 1909. IT
WAS CALLED THE GRANITE TOWN GREETINGS; THE EDITOR WAS MR. GAY. LATER IT CHANGED
IT'S NAME TO ST. GEORGE NEWS, OWNED BY MR.COTTRELL.
IN THE GAY NINETIES, ST. GEORGE HAD A SPLENDID CORONET
BAND, UNDER THE
DIRECTION OF PROFESSOR JOHN MOONEY. IT'S MEMBERS WERE HENRY, FRENCH, JOSEPH,
AND THOMAS MEATING, ROBERT AND JAMES DODDS, MIKE HENNESSEY, CHARLES LYNOT,
JAMES BOGUE, GEORGE AND CHARLES CRAIG. THIS BAND WAS CALLED TO FREDERICTON
TO PLAY FOR THE KING AND QUEEN AND VOTED ONE OF THE BEST.
"DOCTORS"
SOME OF THE EARLY DOCTORS WERE DR. REED, DR. GALLAGHER, DR. DENOYER,
DR. ROBERT THOMPSON, DR. BARRY AND OUR OWN NATIVE BORN DR. GILLMORE AND
DR. DICK.
DR. H. I. TAYLOR WHO CAME TO ST. GEORGE A YOUNG DOCTOR IN 1888, ADMINISTERED
TO THE NEEDS OF THE HIS PEOPLE UNTIL HIS DEATH. HE ALSO ENTERED PROVINCIAL
POLITICS AND BECAME MINISTER OF HEALTH. ABOUT 1891, DR. C. C. ALEXANDER CAME
TO ST. GEORGE AND REMAINED UNTIL HIS DEATH. BOTH OF THESE MEN WERE BELOVED
BY THEIR PEOPLE AND WILL BE REMEMBERED BY ALL FOR THEIR UNSWERVING DEVOTION
TO THEIR DUTY.
FOLLOWING IS A STATEMENT FROM FROM THE WINSLOW PAPERS, PAGE 490, OF THE
PARISH OF ST. GEORGE, 1803.
MEN 78, WOMEN 82, CHILDREN 240, TOTAL 400. THIS PARISH IS GROWING TO IMPORTANCE
IN IT'S EXPORTS. THE NUMBER OF MILLS HAS LATELY INCREASED TO 5 WHICH WILL
CUT YEARLY ABOUT 2,300,000 FEET OF BOARDS. THE IMMENSE QUANTITY
OF PINE LATELY DISCOVERED IN THE INTERIOR OF THE PARISH AND CAPABLE OF
BEING BROUGHT DOWN THE RIVER MAY HEREAFTER PROVE AN ENDLESS SOURCE OF SPARS
FOR THE USE OF GOVERNMENT, BESIDES A SUFFICIENCY FOR THE SUPPLY OF ALMOST
ANY NUMBER OF MILLS. THE PARISH IS WELL CALCULATED FOR RAISING STOCK AND
THE LANDS PRODUCE GOOD CROPS OF WHEAT, CORN, OATS, POTATOES AND FLAX. IT
CURES ABOUT 400 QUINTALS OF FISH AND MANUFACTURES ABOUT 700 HOGSHEADS OF
LIME YEARLY. THESE LIME KILNS WERE AT L'ETANG.
PETER CLINCH SERVED IN THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY FIRST HELD IN THE MALLARD
HOUSE THE 3rd OF JAN 1786, ALONG WITH WM. PAINE (DR.) WHO LIVED ON FRY'S
ISLAND, JAMES CAMPBELL AND ROBERT PAGAN OF ST. ANDREWS. OF THE 26 MEMBERS
23 WERE UNITED EMPIRE LOYALISTS.
IN THE SAINT JOHN MUSEUM IS A MEDALLION 22"X 20" OF RED GRANITE FOUND BETWEEN
ST. GEORGE AND LAKE UTOPIA IN 1862, PROVED TO HAVE BEEN CUT BY AN
EXPERT STONE CUTTER OF THE DEMONTS AND CHAMPLAIN EXPEDITION OF 1604.
THOUGHT TO BE THE HEAD OF AN INDIAN CHIEF, DIGOMANT, FRIEND OF DeMONTS,
WHICH PROVES THAT ST. GEORGE WAS VISITED BY WHITE MEN IN 1604 AND THAT DeMONTS
AND CHAMPLAIN VISITED THE ST. GEORGE VICINITY.
"PORTS"
AS A RESULT OF THE THREAT OF AMERICAN INVASION DURING THE WAR
OF 1812, A MR. VERNON, WHO CAME WITH CLINCH, HAD BUILT A SMALL FORT ON THE
LEFT BANK OF THE TIDAL PART OF THE RIVER, CALLED FORT VERNON. THIS WAS
AFTERWARDS
PARTLY DISMANTLED AND LATER DURING THE FENIAN THREAT TORN DOWN.
A NEW FORT WAS BUILT IN ST. GEORGE ABOUT 1866 ON TOP OF THE HILL BACK OF
THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (NOW THE TOWN HALL). THIS HAS SINCE BEEN CALLED FORT
HILL. MUCH OF THE MATERIAL USED FOR THESE FORTS WAS FROM OLD FORT VERNON
ACROSS THE BASIN. TWO OF THE OLD CANNONS FROM THE FORT ARE FITTINGLY MOUNTED
IN FRONT OF THE LEGION MEMORIAL HALL.
"LAKE UTOPIA MONSTER"
IN 1872 THE CHIEF MEDICINE MEN OF THE MICMACS SWORE THAT
A FEARFUL MONSTER WITH A HEAD AS LARGE AS A PUNCHEON FOLLOWED THEM IN THEIR
CANOES, SNAPPING IT'S BLOODY JAWS IN A MOST TERRIBLE MANNER. ORIGINAL STORIES
OF THE FAMED MONSTER GIVE MANY REASONS FOR BELIEVING THAT SOMETHING OUT
OF THE ORDINARY WAS INDEED MAKING IT'S HOME IN LAKE UTOPIA. SINCE THE MONSTER
HAS NEVER BEEN CAUGHT IT MUST BE ASSUMED THAT IT IS STILL IN THE LAKE.
THE FIRST REPORT OF THE MONSTER TO THE WORLD WAS GIVEN BY A LUTHUR ADAMS
IN 1867. HE TOLD THAT LUMBERMEN EMPLOYED AT THE SAW MILL SITE AT THE NORTH
END OF THE LAKE OBSERVED THAT THE WATERS, USUALLY PLACID WERE SUDDENLY
DISTURBED BY A SPLASHING OBJECT. SOME ASSERTED THAT IT WAS 10 FEET WIDE
AND 30 FEET LONG. DURING THE NEXT FEW DAYS THE SAME TYPE OF DISTURBANCE
WAS SEEN IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE LAKE. THIS REPORT CAUSED SUCH A FLURRY
THAT RESIDENTS SET OUT LARGE HOOKS BAITED WITH SALT FISH AND PORK THAT
ADAMS
FOUND ATTACHED TO LOGS ALL AROUND THE LAKE.
"*• EX. "EARLY HISTORY OF ST. GEORGE ", UNPUBLISHED BY THE LATE MRS. HENRY
JOHNSTON, ST. GEORGE N. B QUOTED BY SPINNEY AND GREARSON. CHARLOTTE COUNTY
HIST. SOC 1966. THE FIRST PUBLISHED REPORT OF THE MONSTER APPEARED IN THE
CANADIAN ILLUSTRATED NEWS IN 1872 SIGNED BY E. J. RUSSEL. HE TOLD OF THE
MONSTER RAISING OLD NED OCCASIONALLY WHEN IN A SPORTING MOOD, AND SENDING
UP LOGS, SPRUCE ENDINGS, AND OTHER MATERIALS AND CAUSING THE WATER TO BOIL
AND FOAM AS IF A GEYSER HAD SUDDENLY BROKEN LOOSE.
RUSSEL'S REPORT STATES THAT AT ONE TIME A COMPANY WAS FORMED IN ST. GEORGE
WITH A CAPITAL OF $200. FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROCURING NETS AND APPARATUS
FOR THE CAPTURE OF THE MONSTER. NETS WERE MADE AND SET OUT AND A PARTY
OF WELL KNOWN GENTS, ONE OF WHOM WAS AN OFFICER OF THE FISHERIES DEPARTMENT,
WENT TO ST. GEORGE FROM SAINT JOHN TO ASSIST IN IT'S CAPTURE. THEY WERE
ARMED TO THE TEETH. THEY RETURNED WITHOUT A NIBBLE TO REPORT. THE ADVENTURERS
ASSERTS THAT THE MONSTER HAD REACHED THE LAKE FROM THE BAY OF FUNDY AND
THAT THE SLIMY TRACKS OF A HUGE BEAST HAD BEEN TRACED FROM THE BAY TO THE
LAKE AROUND 1840. HE AND HIS PARTY WERE CONSIDERED ADVENTURERS IN SAILING
THE LAKE SO SOON AFTER THESE HAPPENINGS. SKEPTICS OF COURSE HAVE ALWAYS
ASSERTED THAT A MONSTER THIS SIZE WOULD SOON EAT ALL
THE FOOD, WATER VEGETATION OR FISH IN THE LAKE AND WOULD THEN SOON STARVE
TO DEATH. FAITHFUL BELIEVERS ARE QUICK IN THEIR REBUTTAL. THEY SAY
THE ARGUMENTS
OF THE NON BELIEVERS ARE ACTUALLY LINKED TOGETHER AND SUPPLY THE CLUE TO
THE NATURE OF THE BEAST. BECAUSE THE MONSTER IS SO LARGE IT ALSO HAS A
LARGE APPETITE, THUS IT WILL EAT AND PLAY FOR A WHILE AND THEN HIBERNATE
FOR YEARS WAITING FOR THE FOOD SUPPLY TO REPLENISH ITSELF.
STRANGELY ENOUGH THE MONSTER USUALLY APPEARS SOON AFTER THE WINTER ICE
HAS BROKEN UP.
CAPTAIN CHARLES JOHNSTON AND HIS UNCLE WM. JOHNSTON WOVE A NET 100 FEET
LONG, 20 FEET WIDE AND SANK THE NET AT THE HEAD OF THE LAKE. THEY HAD NO
LUCK AND SINCE NO ONE HAS PRODUCED THE MONSTER DEAR OR ALIVE, IT IS
PRESUMED TO BE STILL ALIVE. A GROUP OF MEN WORKING ON THE ROAD AT THE FOOT
OF THE LAKE IN 1932 SAW IT AND I SAW IT MYSELF. IN 1954 A MAN SAW IT BUT
FELT RELUCTANT TO TELL IT, THINKING PEOPLE WOULD LAUGH AT HIM. THIS IS
A LOCAL LEGEND STRONGLY BELIEVED BY OLDER PEOPLE IN THE AREA. WITH
THE PASSING YEARS IT IS REMEMBERED BY VERY FEW.
"INDUSTRIES"
PULP MILL;
THE ST. GEORGE PULP MILL OPENED AUGUST 12 1902,WITH MR. E. G. MURPHY AS MANAGER.
MR. A. C. TOY CAME IN 1902 FROM NEW YORK AS OFFICE MANAGER. HE SERVED THE
COMPANY FOR 48 YEARS.
"OTHER INDUSTRIES "
THERE WERE OTHER EARLY INDUSTRIES. THERE WAS A TANNERY
ACROSS THE BASIN AT E. S. McKAY'S. THERE WERE 10 SAW MILLS AT THE FIRST GULLY,
AS IT WAS CALLED THEN, AND KNOWN AS THE FALLS.
THERE WAS A GRIST MILL BESIDE
THE UPPER BRIDGE (SIMPSON'S GARAGE) AND CORN WAS BROUGHT IN BY TRAIN FROM
THE WEST.
THERE WERE SEVERAL GRANITE
SHEDS, BAY OF FUNDY, EPPS AND DODDS, TAYLOR BROS., TAYTE AND MEATING,
O'BRIEN AND BALDWIN, VICTORIA GRANITE., MILNE COUTTS, MAXWELLS, McKENZIE
AND MANNS. ALL TOGETHER THE GRANITE SHEDS AND QUARRIES EMPLOYED ABOUT 500
MEN.
THERE WERE SHIPYARDS AT McKENZIES IN MASCARENE WHERE SAILING VESSELS WERE
BUILT. THE SETTLEMENT OF 1822 WAS MOSTLY OF SCOTTISH HIGHLANDERS FROM SUTHERLAND,
CAITHNESS AND PERTH.
JOHN DEWAR HAD A LARGE STORE AT ST. GEORGE AND A MILL A LITTLE ABOVE ST. GEORGE.
THESE WERE ESTABLISHED IN JANUARY 1861. FOREST PRODUCTS WERE AND STILL
ARE A BIG BUSINESS IN THIS AREA. EARLY PRODUCTS WERE BOXWOOD,
LATH WOOD, PILINGS, WEIR STAKES, BARREL HOOPS, KILN WOOD AS WELL AS THE
USUAL LOGS FOR SAW MILLS AND LATER WOOD FOR THE PULP MILL.
"ROADS"
THE EARLY ROADS WERE VERY POOR WITH CULVERTS OF POLES AND BRIDGES
OF STONE. THE EARLY ROAD FROM BOCABEC TO LEPREAU FOLLOWS ALONG THE PRESENT
ROAD UNTIL JUST PAST GARNEY'S (OSSIE'S LUNCH) WHERE IT TURNED LEFT UP OVER
GOOSE NECK HILL, PAST DEWAR'S DAIRY, COMING OUT AT YOUNGS BRIDGE AND DOWN
THE ROAD TO ST. GEORGE. FROM ST. GEORGE IT WENT OUT THE MAIN ROAD TO SPINNEY'S
CORNER WHERE THERE USED TO BE A WAYSIDE HOUSE OR STAGECOACH STOP. THE ROAD
WENT STRAIGHT OUT THROUGH THE UTOPIA ARMY CAMP AREA TO LEPREAU.
"RAILWAYS"
THE FIRST TRAIN HERE WAS THE SHORE LINE OWNED BY RUSSEL SAGE. THE TRACK
WAS BUILT AROUND 1875 AND THE LAST SPIKE WAS DRIVEN IN THE TRACK AT ARMY
CAMP CROSSING (SPEAR CROSSING). THE C. P. R. BOUGHT OUT THIS RAILROAD
IN THE EARLY 1900'S. THERE WERE TWO TRAINS A DAY, ONE TO ST. STEPHEN AND
ONE TO SAINT JOHN. THE TURN TABLE AND LARGE CAR BARNS AND SHOPS WERE AT
ST. GEORGE. THE FIRST WATER TANK WAS AT A SPRING BEHIND WELCOME WHITE'S.
IT WAS LATER MOVED TO WOODARD'S LAKE. THE TRAIN CARRIED THE MAIL AS WELL
AS FREIGHT AND PASSENGERS. THE RAILROAD FURNISHED WORK FOR A LOT OF MEN
AT THIS TIME. THERE WERE GANGS OF SNOW SHOVELERS, BRIDGE BUILDERS,
TANK AND SHOP MEN,
SECTION MEN AND STATION AGENTS.
"ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS"
WE WISH TO ACKNOWLEDGE
ASSISTANCE FROM THE LATE L. H. BALDWIN FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE EARLY SCHOOLS
RECEIVED JUST A WEEK BEFORE HIS DEATH ON FEBRUARY 16 1965. OTHER INFORMATION
ON SCHOOLS WAS OBTAINED FROM DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION RECORDS (FREDERICTON).
WE HAVE ALSO DRAWN ON EARLY RECORDS OF SEVERAL CHURCHES AND INSCRIPTIONS
ON TOMBSTONES OF EARLY SETTLERS. THE FOLLOWING ARE SOME OF THE OTHER SOURCES
OF INFORMATION, "THE LOYALISTS OF NEW BRUNSWICK" BY ESTHER C. WRIGHT; "NEW
BRUNSWICK MAGAZINE", VOLUME 2,NO.4;"GLIMPSES OF THE PAST OF LOYALISTS"
BY REV. W. O. RAYMOND; AND "PLACE NOMENCLATURE' BY DR. W. F. GANONG AND THE
"MARKHAM SCRAPBOOK" AT THE N. B. MUSEUM.
WE HAVE ALSO DRAWN ON THE MANUSCRIPT
OF THE LATE MRS. HENRY JOHNSTON (1895-1961), "EARLY HISTORY OF ST. GEORGE,
EXCERPTS OF WHICH FORM THE APPENDIX
OF THIS PAPER. WE HAVE ALSO INCORPORATED TRADITIONAL STORIES AND REMINISCENCES.
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