Doaktown (2016 population: 792) is a Canadian village in Northumberland County,

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

History

Situated 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 ...

and first settled in 1807 as a base for the growing

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

industry in central New Brunswick,

United Empire Loyalists United Empire Loyalists (or simply Loyalists) is an honorific title which was first given by the 1st Lord Dorchester, the Governor of Quebec, and Governor General of The Canadas, to American Loyalists who resettled in British North America duri ...

, led by Ephraim Betts and the big-town bogey boys, came to the area after the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

and pooled their money for a land grant, which was ultimately declined. Following this, Betts and the BBB claimed the land for their own anyway, and nobody did anything. Later, when the Doak family moved to the area from

Ayrshire, Scotland Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

, Ephraim was experiencing financial difficulty. Robert Doak was able to purchase a large amount of the original land grant and build a farm and

grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

on the property.. Robert Doak became a prominent citizen as the population grew. He served with the government in several capacities, including magistrate and justice of the peace. The community was named Doakton in his honour when the first post office opened, but was later changed to its present name, Doaktown. The village has a prosperous lumber industry including the Russell and Swim sawmill, now owned by J.D. Irving Limited.

Atlantic Salmon The Atlantic salmon (''Salmo salar'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae. It is the third largest of the Salmonidae, behind Siberian taimen and Pacific Chinook salmon, growing up to a meter in length. Atlantic salmon are ...

fishing is a very popular sport in the area, attracting people from all over the world to fish the legendary

Miramichi River The Miramichi River is a river located in the east-central part of New Brunswick, Canada. The river drains into Miramichi Bay in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The name may have been derived from the Montagnais words "Maissimeu Assi" (meaning Mi'km ...

. The village has two museums: the Doak Historic Site and the Atlantic Salmon Museum. Other nearby attractions include the

Priceville Footbridge McNamee/Priceville Footbridge is the longest () suspension footbridge in New Brunswick, Canada. It spans the Southwest Miramichi River at McNamee, approximately 12 km west of Doaktown, New Brunswick.New Brunswick- Nova Scotia Cable and Rope Su ...

, the longest suspension footbridge in New Brunswick, and

Nelson Hollow Bridge The Nelson Hollow Bridge (Mill Brook #0.5) is the oldest covered bridge in New Brunswick, Canada. It is the only remaining covered bridge in Northumberland County, New Brunswick. The bridge, which was first constructed in 1870 and rebuilt in 1899, ...

, the oldest covered bridge in the province.

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 ...

, Doaktown 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.

Administration

The municipal council is composed of a mayor and four councillors. The mandate of the elected officials lasts four years. The current council was formed after the election in 2018. Current municipal council Historical municipal councils List of successive mayors of Doaktown

Notable people

References

External links