TOWN OF ST. STEPHEN

        The Town of St. Stephen was incorporated in 1871. Its located in the parish of the same name (established  1786), Charlotte County, New Brunswick, Canada. The town sits on the International Boundary beween New Brunswick and Maine, USA. The lower part of this boundary is the St. Croix River.

        Back in 1784, following the American War for Independence, the United Empire Loyalists arrived in Canada and joined the few original settlers in the area. During the early 1800's both sides of the St. Croix River became studded with numerous shipyards and wharves and a "Golden Era" began. The many docks were loaded with lumber bound for Europe.

        But in 1876, just five years after the town had been incorporated, St. Stephen's business district was almost totally consumed by fire. Eighty buildings and thirteen wharves were destroyed. By the turn of the century the lumbering and shipbuilding had all but disappeared from the area. Only through the preseverence of its people and the diversification of its economic base did the town survive. Ganong Bros. Chocolates, Vroom Bros. Cabinet Makers, a cotton mill, an axe factory and the Surprise Soap Company all contributed to St. Stephen's prosperity.

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