Blackville is a community, formerly an incorporated village, in

Northumberland County, New Brunswick Northumberland County is located in northeastern New Brunswick, Canada. Geography Northumberland County is covered by thick forests, whose products stimulate the economy. The highest peaks in the province, including Mount Carleton lie in the n ...

, Canada. It is located on the

Southwest Miramichi River The Southwest Miramichi River is a river in New Brunswick, Canada. The river has its origin in Carleton County, at Miramichi Lake in the Miramichi Highlands (a part of the Appalachian Mountains). Its two branches join near the hamlet of Junipe ...

approximately southwest of Miramichi.

History

The first post office opened in the area in 1842, under the community name "Decantillon's"; the area known as The Forks was also serviced by this post office. In 1847, these areas collectively became known as Blackville, as the area was the largest population centre in the Parish of Blackville. The parish, created in 1830 when it was partitioned from the Parish of Ludlow, had been named in honour of William Black, the acting governor of the colony of New Brunswick from 1829 to 1831. Blackville was first incorporated as a village in 1967, annexing the neighbouring communities of Underhill and Breadalbane later that year. On 1 January 2023, Blackville amalgamated with all or part of eight local service districts to form the new incorporated rural community of Miramichi River Valley. Blackville remains in official use.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...

, Blackville had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Government

Blackville residents are able to cast votes in the Miramichi River Valley Rural Community's elections for mayor, three at-large councillors, and the Ward 3 councillor. The community is within the federal electoral district of Miramichi-Grand Lake, and within the provincial electoral district of

Southwest Miramichi-Bay du Vin Southwest Miramichi-Bay du Vin (french: Miramichi-Sud-Ouest-Baie-du-Vin) is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, Canada. It was created as Southwest Miramichi in 1973, by which name it was known until 2 ...

. The mayors of Blackville during its time as an incorporated village from 1967 to 2022 included: # Lawrence Stephens (1967-1969) # Harold Connors (1969-1971) # Roland Walls (1971-1992) # Glen Hollowood (1992-1998) # Roland Walls (1998-2001) # Omer MacKenzie (2001-2004) # Glen Hollowood (2004-2012) # Harold Muck (2012-2013) # Matthew Sturgeon (2013) # Andrew Hawkes (2013-2016) # Christopher Hennessy (2016-2021) # Ian Fortune (2021-2022)

Economy

Blackville's economy was once tied to the forest industry. A large

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

that employed 200 workers had been operated in the village by industrial conglomerate

UPM Kymmene UPM-Kymmene Oyj is a Finnish forest industry company. UPM-Kymmene was formed by the merger of Kymmene Corporation with Repola Oy and its subsidiary United Paper Mills Ltd in 1996. UPM consists of six business areas: UPM Fibres, UPM Energy, UPM R ...

, but it closed in 2007 as a result of economic pressures. According to the 2016 Census, Blackville citizens had a median income of $30,816 for individuals, and $62,976 for households in 2015. Blackville's unemployment rate was 21.9%. Blackville is home to a single financial institution, Blackville Credit Union. It is the oldest of its kind in New Brunswick.

Education

Blackville School Anglophone North is a Canadian school district in New Brunswick, operated under the direction of the Ministry of Education and Early Childhood Development. Anglophone North is an Anglophone district operating 33 public schools (gr. K-12) in Restig ...

, grades K - 12, is a

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

in the community. This is the only grade school in Blackville, with students occasionally transporting to other Miramichi schools instead (Such as

Miramichi Valley High School Miramichi Valley High School is one of two public, English language high schools in the city of Miramichi, New Brunswick, Canada. It serves principally residents from the north side of the Miramichi River, both from the city of Miramichi, and sm ...

Notable people

Herb Curtis Herb Curtis (born 1949) is a Canadian novelist and humorist who writes about and has long lived in New Brunswick. He is best known for writing the Brennen Siding Trilogy, three connected novels set in the fictional community of Brennen Siding, New ...

* J. F. A. McManus * Kathy McCormack * Marion Leane Smith (Lived her final years and died in Blackville.)

References

External links

Village of Blackville
{{Subdivisions of New Brunswick, villages=yes Communities in Northumberland County, New Brunswick Former villages in New Brunswick