Newcastle is an urban neighbourhood in the city of Miramichi,

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. Prior to municipal amalgamation in 1995, it was an incorporated town and the

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 Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

of Northumberland County. Situated on the north bank of the

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 former town is sometimes referred to as Miramichi West. Being a former

, Newcastle is the location of several government offices and the county court house. It was an important transportation centre as it was located at the head of navigation on the Miramichi River and had wharves for the export of lumber and other forest products. During the mid-1870s 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 ...

was built through the town, placing it on the mainline between Halifax and

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. The town's most prosperous days are considered to be the years prior to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. It later reached a peak population of about 6,500.

History

Newcastle was first settled by Scottish settlers, led by

William Davidson (lumberman) William Davidson (1740 – 17 June 1790) was a Scottish-Canadian lumber merchant, shipbuilder and politician. He was the first permanent European settler on the Miramichi River in New Brunswick. Arrival in the New World Davidson was born i ...

in the late 18th century, and was originally called Miramichi. Early settlers changed the name due to pronunciation and spelling troubles. Throughout its history, the town's economy was largely based around the forest industry. A shipbuilding industry developed in the area during the late 18th century, largely to facilitate overseas lumber exports, including masts for the British navy. The 1825 Miramichi fire, the advent of steel-hulled ships, and perhaps over-cutting of White Pine, contributed to a long-term decline in the town's economy. Pulp and paper production eventually replaced lumber exports as the mainstay of the town's economy. Newcastle remained the industrial heart of the Miramichi valley, its large pulp and paper mill employing hundreds. While many of the early settlers were employed in the forest industry, others participated in the salmon fishery. As transportation improved and the commercial fishery waned, a valuable sports fishery developed, attracting "sports" initially from adjacent New England, and subsequently from all parts of the world. The 1952 discovery of base metal deposits and the development of

Heath Steele Mines Heath Steele Mines, situated northwest of Newcastle, New Brunswick, Canada, at the headwaters of the Tomogonops and Little Rivers, was a large and productive copper, lead, and zinc mine which operated from 1956 to 1999. The mine was an economic ...

, 60 km northwest of Newcastle, allowed the economy to diversify and strengthen through the 1960s. The mine closed in 1999 as metal prices declined and the ore bodies were depleted.

Notable people

The famous British newspaper owner and Minister of Aircraft Production during World War II, Max Aitken (

Lord Beaverbrook William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook (25 May 1879 – 9 June 1964), generally known as Lord Beaverbrook, was a Canadian-British newspaper publisher and backstage politician who was an influential figure in British media and politics o ...

), moved to Newcastle at an early age and considered it home. A noted philanthropist, Lord Beaverbrook, contributed much to his home town and province. He established the Old Manse Library in his boyhood residence, built the town hall, and established a park (the historic Town Square) for the community. The picturesque park includes the town's war

cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...

, a stone fountain (with water supplied by an

artesian well An artesian aquifer is a confined aquifer containing groundwater under positive pressure. An artesian aquifer has trapped water, surrounded by layers of impermeable rock or clay, which apply positive pressure to the water contained within th ...

), an Italian stone

gazebo A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal or turret-shaped, often built in a park, garden or spacious public area. Some are used on occasions as bandstands. Etymology The etymology given by Oxford Dictionaries (website), Oxford D ...

and other monuments of local historic importance such as shipbuilding and folk music. The park was once well known for its graceful and elegant stand of elm trees, since stricken by the deadly

Dutch elm disease Dutch elm disease (DED) is caused by a member of the sac fungi (Ascomycota) affecting elm trees, and is spread by elm bark beetles. Although believed to be originally native to Asia, the disease was accidentally introduced into Americas, America ...

. A bust of Beaverbrook, containing his ashes, stands in the square. Newcastle is also the hometown of

David Adams Richards David Adams Richards (born 17 October 1950) is a Canadian writer and member of the Canadian Senate.Governor General's Awards The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

External links

{{coord, 46.983, N, 65.567, W, display=title, type:city_region:CA_source:GNS-enwiki Neighbourhoods in Miramichi, New Brunswick Populated places disestablished in 1995 Former towns in New Brunswick