St. Croix is a rural community in
York County,
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.
The community derives its name from the
St. Croix River which flows along its western boundary; this river also forms the
Canada–United States border
The border between Canada and the United States is the longest international border in the world. The terrestrial boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Can ...
and the community is opposite
Vanceboro,
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
to the west.
St. Croix is located 8 kilometres west of the village of
McAdam. The western terminus of
Highway 4 is at the border on the
Saint Croix-Vanceboro Bridge over the St. Croix River, where it connects with the eastern terminus of
Highway 6
Route 6, or Highway 6, may refer to routes in the following countries:
International
* Asian Highway 6
* European route E6
* European route E006
Albania
* National Road SH6
Argentina
* Buenos Aires Provincial Route 6
Australia New ...
in Maine. The
New Brunswick Southern Railway
The New Brunswick Southern Railway Company Limited is a Canadian short line railway owned by the New Brunswick Railway Company Limited, a holding company that is part of "Irving Transportation Services", a division within the industrial conglo ...
crosses the river using the
Saint Croix-Vanceboro Railway Bridge.
The
Canada Border Services Agency
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA; french: Agence des services frontaliers du Canada, ''ASFC'') is a federal law enforcement agency that is responsible for border control (i.e. protection and surveillance), immigration enforcement, and cu ...
maintains a customs station in St. Croix immediately east of the bridge.
History
Railway history
During the 1800s, St. Croix developed as an isolated lumbering settlement, however in the 1860s the community was selected for the crossing point for the
European & North American Railway (Western Extension) which was constructing a line from
Saint John to Vanceboro. At Vanceboro, a sister company's line had opened through to
Bangor in 1869. An
iron railway bridge on stone piers was constructed over the St. Croix, measuring approximately 30 metres (100 feet) in length. The opening ceremony in 1871 of the railway line between the two countries was attended by
Governor General of Canada
The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, t ...
Lord Lisgar and
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
.
During the 1870s, financial difficulties saw the line from Saint John to St. Croix sold to the
New Brunswick Railway
The New Brunswick Railway Company Limited (NBR) is currently a Canadian non-operating railway and land holding company headquartered in Saint John, New Brunswick that is part of "Irving Transportation Services", a division within the J.D. Irving ...
(NBR). At the same time, the
Maine Central Railroad
The Maine Central Railroad Company was a U. S. Class I railroad in central and southern Maine. It was chartered in 1856 and began operations in 1862. By 1884, Maine Central was the longest railroad in New England. Maine Central had expanded to w ...
(MEC) leased the E&NA from Vanceboro to Bangor; it would purchase the line in the 1950s. In 1889 the
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...
(CPR) purchased the NBR and constructed the
International Railway of Maine
The International Railway of Maine was a historic railroad constructed by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) between Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, and Mattawamkeag, Maine, closing a key gap in the railway's transcontinental main line to the port of Sa ...
to connect
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 ...
to the ice free winter port of Saint John, leasing trackage rights over the section owned by the Maine Central between Vanceboro and
Mattawamkeag. In 1974, CP Rail purchased this section, completing its ownership of a transcontinental railway from the shores of the Atlantic to the Pacific.
St. Croix had a customs facility operated by the Government of Canada to inspect trains entering New Brunswick as well as a small passenger station, however the opening of the major station in McAdam would soon see the majority of residents using that facility, leaving St. Croix as a "run through" point.
CPR passenger services operated daily through the community from 1889 until they passed to
Via Rail Canada
Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that is mandated to operate intercity passenger rail service in Canada. It receives an annual subsidy from Transport Canada to offset the cost of operating ...
in 1978; its primary train
''The Atlantic Limited'' was renamed to the
''Atlantic'' at that time. Under Via, the ''Atlantic'' operated until it was discontinued in 1981 only to be resurrected in 1985. The train would pass through St. Croix daily until it was cut back to 3 days per week in 1990 and then permanently discontinued in 1994.
In 1988, CP Rail placed all of its lines east of Montreal, including the mainline through St. Croix and Vanceboro under a separate business unit called
Canadian Atlantic Railway
The Canadian Atlantic Railway (CAR) was a Canadian and U.S. railway that existed from 1988 to 1994.
The CAR was created in September 1988 as a business unit of CP Rail (CPR) to serve the Maritime Provinces and state of Maine. Its creation was ...
. The line was sold in 1995 to
J.D. Irving Limited
J.D. Irving Limited (JDI) is a privately owned Conglomerate (company), conglomerate company headquartered in Saint John, New Brunswick, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. It is a subsidiary of the parent company, Irving Group of Companies, al ...
and it is operated by subsidiary
New Brunswick Southern Railway
The New Brunswick Southern Railway Company Limited is a Canadian short line railway owned by the New Brunswick Railway Company Limited, a holding company that is part of "Irving Transportation Services", a division within the industrial conglo ...
.
1915 sabotage attempt
During
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 ...
, the CPR line became infamous for being the sabotage target of a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
officer. The United States was still a neutral country at that point and CPR was not permitted to transport war material and troops across US soil on the way to Saint John (most war goods were transported in Canada on the government-owned
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 ...
using an all-Canadian routing instead). However Imperial Germany was convinced that CPR's route across Maine was being used for the war effort and sought to destroy the
Saint Croix-Vanceboro Railway Bridge crossing the St. Croix River between Vanceboro and St. Croix. The officer travelled to Vanceboro and stayed in the local hotel, then laid explosives which detonated but did not damage the bridge. He was arrested and then jailed by the US and then Canada.
Notable people
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
{{coord, 45.564244, N, 67.425928, W, display=title
Communities in York County, New Brunswick