Hartland is a town in

Carleton County Carleton County (2016 population 26,220) is located in west-central New Brunswick, Canada. The western border is Aroostook County, Maine, the northern border is Victoria County, and the southeastern border is York County from which it was fo ...

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 ...

, Canada. On 1 January 2023, Hartland annexed all or part of seven

local service district A local service district is a type of designated place in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. In the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, a local service district is a defined area led by an elected committee responsible for the deliv ...

s, greatly expanding its area and population. The community's name remains in official use. Revised census figures have not been released.

Geography

Hartland is situated on the Saint John River in the central-western portion of the province in the agricultural heartland of Carleton County.

History

The first settler in the area of what would become Hartland was William Orser (b.1762) and his son William Jr. William traveled there from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

with his wife and six children. His wife died of an illness and he remarried to a widow, Mary Blake, who also had six children. The pair later conceived an additional six children. The land was settled in 1797, and granted in 1809. The town was named Hartland in 1874, to honour James R. Hartley, a surveyor and MLA. It is the hometown of two of New Brunswick's

premiers Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

during the 20th century: Hugh John Flemming and

Richard Hatfield Richard Bennett Hatfield (April 9, 1931 – April 26, 1991) was a New Brunswick politician and the longest serving premier of New Brunswick from 1970 to 1987.Richard Starr, ''Richard Hatfield, The Seventeen Year Saga,'' 1987, Early life T ...

. U.S.

Congressmen A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

Isaac Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was the ...

& Samuel Stephenson and

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...

Lieutenant-Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Barbara Oliver Hagerman are also from Hartland. Renowned Canadian poet

Alden Nowlan Alden Albert Nowlan (; January 25, 1933 – June 27, 1983) was a Canadian poet, novelist, and playwright. History Alden Nowlan was born into rural poverty in Stanley, Nova Scotia, adjacent to Mosherville, and close to the small town of Windsor ...

also lived in the town for several formative years while working for the Hartland Observer newspaper. The town is best known for being the site of the

Hartland Bridge The Hartland Covered Bridge in Hartland, New Brunswick, is the world's longest covered bridge, at long. It crosses the Saint John River from Hartland to Somerville, New Brunswick, Canada. The framework consists of seven small Howe Truss bri ...

, the longest

covered bridge A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...

in the world. Originally opened on July 4, 1901, the 1,282 foot (390.75 m) bridge is a national historic site. The bridge was covered as part of major repairs in 1921, and the pedestrian walkway added in 1945. Prior to the building of the

Mactaquac Dam The Mactaquac Dam is an embankment dam used to generate hydroelectricity in Mactaquac, New Brunswick. It dams the waters of the Saint John River and is operated by NB Power with a capacity to generate 670 megawatts of electricity from 6 turbines ...

, Hartland was also famous for its

salmon pool A Salmon pool is a name for a rocky depression in a riverbed, where salmon are known to gather to rest and feed, and from where they can be successfully caught. In England, they are known as stells. Known salmon pools *Monks Brook *Matapedia River ...

s, located slightly upstream of the Hartland Bridge. Hartland is the headquarters of the North American trucking company Day & Ross, itself a subsidiary of

McCain Foods McCain may refer to: * McCain (surname), a surname (includes a list of persons and characters) Companies * McCain Foods Limited, a producer of frozen foods * McCain, Inc., privately held American manufacturing company headquartered in Vista ...

, as well as home to the New Brunswick Bible Institute.

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 ...

, Hartland 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.

Disasters

Fires

July 15, 1907 An arsonist started a fire which consumed a large part of the town. The town was rebuilt. October 24, 1946 The town's

dehydration In physiology, dehydration is a lack of total body water, with an accompanying disruption of metabolic processes. It occurs when free water loss exceeds free water intake, usually due to exercise, disease, or high environmental temperature. Mil ...

plant, used to dehydrate potatoes, was destroyed by fire. The adjacent

glucose Glucose is a simple sugar with the molecular formula . Glucose is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. Glucose is mainly made by plants and most algae during photosynthesis from water and carbon dioxide, using ...

and

starch Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diets ...

plants were also consumed. August 25, 1980 A fire destroyed many businesses on Main Street.

Floods

Being built close to the Saint John River, the town is usually affected by the annual spring

freshet The term ''freshet'' is most commonly used to describe a spring thaw resulting from snow and ice melt in rivers located in upper North America. A spring freshet can sometimes last several weeks on large river systems, resulting in significant in ...

Ice jam Ice jams occur when a topographic feature of the river causes floating river ice to accumulate and impede further progress downstream with the river current. Ice jams can significantly reduce the flow of a river and cause upstream flooding—som ...

s threaten the Hartland Bridge, it being a

choke point In military strategy, a choke point (or chokepoint) is a geographical feature on land such as a valley, defile or bridge, or maritime passage through a critical waterway such as a strait, which an armed force is forced to pass through in ord ...

for loose ice.

Notable people

References

Town of Hartland Website
{{authority control Communities in Carleton County, New Brunswick Towns in New Brunswick New Brunswick populated places on the Saint John River (Bay of Fundy)