Gagetown is a former village in Queens County,

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

, Canada. It held village status prior to 2023 and is now part of the village of Arcadia. It is on the west bank of the Saint John River and is the county's

shire town A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equivalent term, shire town, is used in ...

History

Gagetown was originally named Grimross by the

Acadians The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French colonial empire, French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern Americ ...

and

Maliseet The Wolastoqiyik, (, also known as the Maliseet or Malecite () are an Algonquian-speaking First Nation of the Wabanaki Confederacy. They are the Indigenous people of the Wolastoq ( Saint John River) valley and its tributaries. Their terri ...

, who lived there prior to the

Expulsion of the Acadians The Expulsion of the Acadians was the forced removal of inhabitants of the North American region historically known as Acadia between 1755 and 1764 by Great Britain. It included the modern Canadian Maritime provinces of Nova Scotia, New Br ...

. The Raid on Grimross occurred during the St. John River Campaign (1758–59). During the

, many Acadians fled from various parts of the Maritimes to villages along the Saint John River. The St. John River Campaign occurred during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

when Colonel

Robert Monckton Lieutenant general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General Robert Monckton (24 June 1726 – 21 May 1782) was a British Army officer, politician and colonial administrator. He had a distinguished military and political career, being second in com ...

led a force of 1,150 British soldiers to destroy the Acadian settlements on the banks of the Saint John River until they reached the largest village of Ste Anne's Point (present day

Fredericton, New Brunswick Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River (Bay of Fundy), Saint John River, ...

) in February 1759. There were 2000 Acadians on the Saint John River, many of whom were refugees trying to escape the

. On November 4, 1758, Robert Monckton entered the nearly vacant village and New England Rangers under his command chased down and scalped Acadians. They burned 50 buildings, crops and killed the animals. The name of the village is derived from British General

Thomas Gage General Thomas Gage (10 March 1718/192 April 1787) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator best known for his many years of service in North America, including serving as Commander-in-Chief, North America during the early days ...

. Major General Thomas Gage was granted a large tract of land in central New Brunswick in appreciation of his service to the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

; this land comprises modern day Gagetown. During the 1800s and early 1900s, Gagetown was a historic

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

community that served as a stop for river boats. It is the birthplace of Sir

Samuel Leonard Tilley Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley (May 8, 1818June 25, 1896) was a Canadian politician and one of the Fathers of Confederation. Tilley was descended from United Empire Loyalists on both sides of his family. As a pharmacist, he went into business as ...

, a

Father of Confederation The Fathers of Confederation are the 36 people who attended at least one of the Charlottetown Conference of 1864 (23 attendees), the Quebec Conference of 1864 (33 attendees), and the London Conference of 1866 (16 attendees), preceding Canadian ...

. The nearby

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

training centre,

CFB Gagetown 5th Canadian Division Support Base (5 CDSB) Gagetown, formerly known as and commonly referred to as CFB Gagetown, is a large Canadian Forces Base covering an area over , located in southwestern New Brunswick. It is the biggest facility in East ...

, takes its name from the community, although its headquarters are in

Oromocto Oromocto is a Canadian town in Sunbury County, New Brunswick. The town is located on the west bank of the Saint John River at the mouth of the Oromocto River, approximately southeast of Fredericton. The town's name is derived from the name o ...

. Despite sharing the name, Gagetown has no direct access to the base and its training area. Every Summer since 2009 a local music & art collective known as FEELS GOOD and the North Hampton Brewing Company (which produces a local microbrew known as Picaroons) has produced and hosted a 3-day music festival known as Folly Fest. Folly Fest generally falls on the weekend closest to the split of June & July. The

Gagetown Ferry The Gagetown Ferry is a cable ferry in the Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. The ferry crosses the Saint John River (New Brunswick), Saint John River, linking Arcadia, New Brunswick, Arcadia on the west bank with Lower Jemseg, New Brunswic ...

, formerly a free

cable ferry A cable ferry (including the types chain ferry, swing ferry, floating bridge, or punt) is a ferry that is guided (and in many cases propelled) across a river or large body of water by cables connected to both shores. Early cable ferries often ...

, crossed the Saint John River to Lower Jemseg on the east bank, but in 2015 the

Liberal Government Liberal government may refer to: Australia In Australian politics, a Liberal government may refer to the following governments administered by the Liberal Party of Australia: * Menzies Government (1949–66), several Australian ministries under S ...

cut the ferry for provincial budget reasons. In 2020, the Gagetown ferry service was restored but only for the summer tourist season. On 1 January 2023, Gagetown amalgamated with the village of

Cambridge-Narrows Cambridge-Narrows is a former village in Queens County, New Brunswick, Canada. It held village status prior to 2023 and is now part of the village of Arcadia. The village straddled Washedemoak Lake, a widening of the Canaan River, several ki ...

and all or part of five local service districts to form the new village of Arcadia. The community's name remains in official use.

Climate

Gagetown has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Dfb'') with warm summers, cold winters and plenty of precipitation year-round. Snowfall is frequent in winter.

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), 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 culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Gagetown 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.

Notable people

* John Montgomery was born in Gagetown. He owned the tavern (Montgomery's Tavern in Toronto, Ontario) which served as a base for the rebels during the Upper Canada Rebellion. His parents were loyalists who fled from New York following the American revolution. * Annie Babbitt Bulyea (1863–1934) was born in Gagetown. She was a Canadian temperance leader.

References

External links