In the early 1800's, Rueben Brockway came out from New Hampshire with his wife and family and homesteaded in what is now known as the Gowdie Place on the banks of the Magaguadavic.
He purchased the crown land for 50 cents an acre and hacked out a small clearing from the forest. He was later joined by others, including James Young, who came up from St. George in 1834 to become the village blacksmith.
Brockway had learned his trade as an apprentice in Bedfast, Ireland. One of his first enterprises was a shingle factory, established at Lower Trout Brook by Young and William Jordon. This same location was chosen for a saw mill which also had a machine to make matches.In these early years, oxen were more common than horses and provisions were brought up river in skiffs that were poled up from St. George. The last part of the supply route was 30 miles of hilly terrain. The first mail was brought in by a man who had walked all the way from Fredericton. On the second delivery, he used a horse.