Madawaska is a
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
in
Madawaska County
Madawaska County (2016 population 32,741), also known as the "New Brunswick Panhandle", is located in northwestern New Brunswick, Canada. Over 90% of the county's population speaks French. Its Francophone population are known as "Brayons." Fore ...
,
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
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
.
The parish consists of two discontiguous portions, separated by
Saint-Joseph Parish. For governance purposes, the southwestern portion is divided between the city of
Edmundston
Edmundston is a city in Madawaska County, New Brunswick, Canada.
On 1 January 2023, Edmundston will expanded, annexing the village of Rivière-Verte and parts of the local service districts of the parish of Saint-Jacques and the parish of Sai ...
and the town of
Haut-Madawaska
Haut-Madawaska is an incorporated rural community in Madawaska County within the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It is located in the New Brunswick Panhandle and was formed in 2017 through the amalgamation of four villages with five local s ...
;
the northeastern portion is part of the Northwest rural district.
All three bodies are part of the Northwest Regional Service Commission.
Before the
2023 governance reform, the northeastern portion of the parish formed the
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 ...
of the parish of Madawaska.
Origin of name
The parish was named for the
Madawaska River.
History
Madawaska was erected in 1833 from the northern part of
Kent Parish, taking in most of modern Madawaska County and the northern part of
Victoria County Victoria County is the name of several locations:
In Australia:
*Victoria County, Western Australia
* County of Victoria, South Australia
In Canada:
* Victoria County, New Brunswick
* Municipality of the County of Victoria and the eponymous histo ...
.
In 1850 three new parishes were erected from Madawaska:
Saint-Basile,
Saint-François, and
Saint-Léonard.
In 1852 the parish was extended northward to include territory awarded in the boundary settlement with
Lower Canada
The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...
, losing some area to Restigouche County in the process.
In 1874 the centre of modern
Edmundston
Edmundston is a city in Madawaska County, New Brunswick, Canada.
On 1 January 2023, Edmundston will expanded, annexing the village of Rivière-Verte and parts of the local service districts of the parish of Saint-Jacques and the parish of Sai ...
was added to Madawaska from Saint-Basile.
In 1877
Saint-Jacques Parish was erected from Madawaska and
Saint-Hilaire Parish also included part of Madawaska.
In 1930
Saint-Joseph Parish included part of Madawaska.
In 1946 Madawaska was affected by the major reorganisation of Madawaska County parish boundaries.
Boundaries
Madawaska Parish comprises two discontiguous portions: the heavily populated southwestern portion and the interior northeastern portion, which lacks provincial roads.
[ Remainder of parish on maps 20, 21, and 33 at same site.][ Remainder of parish on mapbooks 058, 059, 078, 079, 098, 119, and 120 at same site.]
The southwestern portion is bounded:
*on the north, running entirely along grant lines, beginning at a point on Farline Road about 2.4 kilometres west-southwesterly of
Route 2, the western point of a grant to Peter St. Ange in Tier One of Trout Brook Settlement, then running easterly and northeasterly along the northern line of the St. Ange grant to the
Madawaska River, then downstream about a kilometre to the westernmost corner of a grant to Olivier Boucher, then northeasterly along the northwestern line of the Boucher grant to the
Iroquois River;
*on the east and southeast, beginning on the northwestern line of the Boucher grant and running down the Iroquois River about 2.1 kilometres to strike the northwestern line of a grant to Prospère Leveque, then northeasterly to the northernmost corner of the Leveque grant, then southeasterly along the northeastern line of Leveque and a grant to Denis Cyr to the easternmost corner of Cyr, about 550 metres northeast of Titus Road, then southwesterly in a straight line along the southeastern line of various grants to strike the
international border
Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...
in the
Saint John River, passing between and roughly parallelling Saint-Louis and Irène Streets near the river;
*on the south, by the international border in the Saint John River, running upstream to a point about 2.6 kilometres east-southeast of the junction of Alcide Collin Road and Riceville Road, then west-northwesterly along the southern line of a grant to Alexander Ouellett Jr. to the junction, which is on the rear line of grants on the Saint John;
*on the west and northwest, running entirely along grant lines, northerly along the rear line of Saint John River grants about 1.45 kilometres to the southernmost corner of a tier of grants at the rear of the river lots, then northwesterly crossing Gabourie Road to the rear of the tier, then northeasterly, crossing Guerrette, Trois-Milles, and Farline Roads, to the western line of Tier One of Trout Brook Settlement, about 300 metres beyond Farline Road, then northwesterly about 1.2 kilometres along Tier One to the starting point.
The northeastern portion is bounded:
*on the northeast by the
Restigouche County
Restigouche County (2016 population 30,955) is located in north-central New Brunswick, Canada. The county is named for the Restigouche River which flows through the county and is famous for its salmon pools, which have attracted wealthy American ...
line;
*on the southeast by the prolongation of the line that forms the southeastern boundary of the southwestern portion of the parish, running southwesterly from the county line to the Green River;
*on the west by Green River.
Communities
Communities at least partly within the parish.
bold indicates an incorporated municipality or
incorporated rural community
*
Edmundston
Edmundston is a city in Madawaska County, New Brunswick, Canada.
On 1 January 2023, Edmundston will expanded, annexing the village of Rivière-Verte and parts of the local service districts of the parish of Saint-Jacques and the parish of Sai ...
** Boucher
** Côte à Blanchette
**
Saint-Basile
**
Saint-Jacques
**
Verret
*
Haut-Madawaska
Haut-Madawaska is an incorporated rural community in Madawaska County within the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It is located in the New Brunswick Panhandle and was formed in 2017 through the amalgamation of four villages with five local s ...
Bodies of water
Bodies of water
[Not including brooks, ponds or coves.] at least partly in the parish.
* Rivière à la Truite
* Green River (French ''Rivière Verte'')
*
Iroquois River
*
Madawaska River
*
Saint John River
* Lake Branch
Other notable places
Parks, historic sites, and other noteworthy places at least partly in the parish.
* Moose Valley Hill Protected Natural Area
* République Provincial Park
Demographics
Parish population total does not include portion in city of
Edmundston
Edmundston is a city in Madawaska County, New Brunswick, Canada.
On 1 January 2023, Edmundston will expanded, annexing the village of Rivière-Verte and parts of the local service districts of the parish of Saint-Jacques and the parish of Sai ...
Population
Language
See also
*
List of parishes in New Brunswick
The Canadian province of New Brunswick is divided by the ''Territorial Division Act'' into 152 parishes, units which had political significance as subdivisions of counties until the Municipalities Act of 1966. Parishes still exist in law and inclu ...
Notes
References
{{coord, 47, 22, 12, N, 68, 19, 48, W, name=Madawaska Parish, New Brunswick, display=title, region:CA-NB_type:adm3rd_scale:100000
Parishes of Madawaska County, New Brunswick