Elgin is a Canadian rural community in
Albert County
Albert County (2016 population 29,158) is New Brunswick's third-youngest county located on the Western side of the Petitcodiac River on the Chignecto Bay in the Bay of Fundy. Prior to the abolition of county government in 1967, the shire town w ...
,
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 ...
.
It is situated in the western part of the county, approximately 14 kilometres south of
Petitcodiac around the intersection of
Route 905, and
Route 895
Elgin's economy is centred on agriculture and forestry, including dairy and beef production, as well as maple sugar and wild blueberry production.
History
The first European to settle in the Elgin area was
John Geldart, Junior in c. 1806, the eldest son of John Geldart, the Yorkshire settler. Upon his arrival at the
Pollett River, the land had extremely dense forest. He and other settlers constructed the first roads, although
First Nations
First Nations or first peoples may refer to:
* Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area.
Indigenous groups
*First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including:
**First Natio ...
' paths existed.
The community was named after
James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin
James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin and 12th Earl of Kincardine, (20 July 181120 November 1863) was a British colonial administrator and diplomat. He served as Governor of Jamaica (1842–1846), Governor General of the Province of Canada (1847–1 ...
who was the Governor of the United Province of Canada.
In 1874 the
Elgin, Petitcodiac and Havelock Railway was incorporated and a branch line was constructed south from the
Intercolonial Railway
The Intercolonial Railway of Canada , also referred to as the Intercolonial Railway (ICR), was a historic Canadian railway that operated from 1872 to 1918, when it became part of Canadian National Railways. As the railway was also completely ow ...
mainline at Petitcodiac to Elgin, along with a branch line north from Petitcodiac to
Havelock. The railway was reincorporated as the Elgin and Havelock Railway in 1894. Construction to Elgin was assisted by the community, which borrowed $13,000 (1874 value) from the county as an incentive.
Among other settlers, in the first half of the nineteenth century, the town attracted fugitive
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
slaves
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
who had escaped from the United States. The Crown had resettled
Black Loyalists
Black Loyalists were people of African descent who sided with the Loyalists during the American Revolutionary War. In particular, the term refers to men who escaped enslavement by Patriot masters and served on the Loyalist side because of the Cro ...
in
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) 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. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
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 ...
.
Demographics
These general statistics are the newest ones available from 1996
Elgin ~ New Brunswick
Population in 1996 1,027 ~ 738,133
Population Break-Down for the Parish of Elgin
Total ~ Male ~ Female
Total - All persons 1,030 ~ 530 ~ 500
Language(s) first learned and still understood
Total ~ Male ~ Female
Total - All persons 1,025 ~ 530 ~ 500
English 975 ~ 500 ~ 475
French 20 ~ 10 ~ 5
Both Bilingual 5 ~ 0 ~ 0
Other languages (5) ~ 25 ~ 10
Geography
Land area (km
2) 433.44
Industry
1. All Persons in local industries
2. Persons in agriculture and other resource-based industries (primary)
3. Persons in manufacturing and construction industries (secondary)
4. Persons in service industries (tertiary
Total ~ Male ~ Female
Total - All persons 445 ~ 300 ~ 150
85 ~ 60 ~ 25
95 ~ 85 ~ 10
265 ~ 150 ~ 115
Notable people
{{Main, List of people from Albert County, New Brunswick
See also
*
List of communities in New Brunswick
This is a list of communities in New Brunswick, a province in Canada. For the purposes of this list, a community is defined as either an incorporated municipality, an Indian reserve, or an unincorporated community inside or outside a municipalit ...
References
Neighbouring communities
*
Gowland Mountain
*
Pollett River
*
Midland
*
Churchs Corner
*
Meadow
A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or artifi ...
Communities in Albert County, New Brunswick
Designated places in New Brunswick
Local service districts of Albert County, New Brunswick