Woodstock is a town in

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

, Canada on the Saint John River, 103 km upriver from

Fredericton Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...

at the mouth of the

Meduxnekeag River The Meduxnekeag River ( ) is a tributary of the Saint John River. It is about long. The North Branch Meduxnekeag River rises from the outlet of a small pond () in Maine and runs to its confluence with the Meduxnekeag in Wakefield, New Brunswic ...

. It is near 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

Houlton, Maine Houlton is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, on the Canada–United States border. As of the 2020 census, the town's population was 6,055. It is perhaps best known for being at the northern terminus of Interstate 95 and as the birthplace of Sam ...

and the intersection of

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1, US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between M ...

and the

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway ( French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean o ...

making it a transportation hub. It is also a service centre for the potato industry and for more than 26,000 people in the nearby communities of Hartland, Florenceville-Bristol, Centreville,

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

Meductic Meductic is a small village located along the Saint John River in southern New Brunswick, approximately 33 kilometres southeast of Woodstock. Meductic's mayor is Lance Royden Graham. History During the Expulsion of the Acadians, the village w ...

, and

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

for shopping, employment and entertainment. Woodstock was possibly named after

Woodstock, Oxfordshire Woodstock is a market town and civil parish, north-west of Oxford in West Oxfordshire in the county of Oxfordshire, England. The 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 3,100. Blenheim Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is next to Wo ...

. The name is

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

in origin, meaning a "clearing in the woods". New Brunswick historian

William Francis Ganong William Francis Ganong, M.A., Ph.D., LL.D., F.R.S.C., (19 February 1864 - 7 September 1941) was a Canadian biologist botanist, historian and cartographer. His botany career was spent mainly as a professor at Smith College in Northampton, Massachu ...

believed the parish (and later town) was named in honour of Viscount Woodstock, a junior title of the Duke of Portland,

Prime Minister of Great Britain The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pri ...

when the

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 Cro ...

s arrived in New Brunswick.

History

Little is known of the area before it was settled by disbanded veterans of De Lancey's Brigade following the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. The veterans moved there in late 1783. The 26,000 acres grant was to 110 men. Not all took up the offer, and of those who did, not all stayed. By 1790 only 23 families were present, and by 1804 only 10 of the original men had possession of the land. According to the diaries of Frederick Dibblee mills were present from 1805. Export of timber via the Saint John river began about this time. When Carleton County was created in 1831, Woodstock was made

county seat 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 ...

, and a jail, court house and registry office were installed. From 1837

William Teel Baird William Teel Baird ( – February 23, 1897) was a Canadian military figure of the 19th century. Biography Baird was born on the upper Saint John River in New Brunswick where his father, John Baird, was a school teacher. The younger Baird was tr ...

operated a pharmacy. The first steamboat from Fredericton reached Woodstock in 1837 and a regular service was established in 1845. By 1847 the population was at 2,000 and the town had four churches, a bank, and a grammar school. On

The Twelfth The Twelfth (also called Orangemen's Day) is an Ulster Protestant celebration held on 12 July. It began in the late 18th century in Ulster. It celebrates the Glorious Revolution (1688) and victory of Protestant King William III of England, W ...

(Orangemen's Day) of July 1847 a riot took place at the corner of Victoria and Boyne streets near the site of the Orange Hall, built in 1848 and now a vacant lot. It was a conflict between Protestant Irish immigrants of the

Orange Order The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants, particularly those of Ulster Scots heritage. It also ...

and Catholic Irish immigrants. Around 250 Orangemen clashed with an equal number of Irish Catholics, leading to 10 deaths and many more injuries. It was a result of years of tensions. Subsequently, only Catholics were brought to trial. According to the 1851 census there were 488 inhabited houses, and nine places of worship. Immigration was important, with the majority coming from Ireland. The town was the first in New Brunswick to be incorporated, in 1856. The first mayor was Lewis P. Fisher. He made provisions in his will for the building of several educational institutions, among them the first Agricultural and Vocational School in Canada, and the

L. P. Fisher Public Library The L. P. Fisher Public Library, started in 1912 and completed in 1914, is a landmark in the town of Woodstock, New Brunswick, Canada. Named for Lewis Peter Fisher (1821-1905), a loyalist lawyer, mayor, and leading citizen of Woodstock who bequeat ...

. In 1861, the newly built railway between

St. Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourt ...

and Woodstock was seized by several hundred navvies, angry at not being paid. A peaceful settlement was later made personally by

Arthur Hamilton-Gordon Arthur Charles Hamilton-Gordon, 1st Baron Stanmore (26 November 1829 – 30 January 1912) was a British Liberal Party politician and colonial administrator. He had extensive contact with Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone. Career Gordon was ...

. The first telephone was installed in 1885 by

H.V. Dalling Horace Victor Dalling (1854-1931) was a Canadian watchmaker, jeweller, optician and inventor. He was the watch inspector for the Canadian Pacific Railway, and is also known for manufacturing the first two telephones in Woodstock, New Brunswick, wh ...

, a homemade telephone whose wires ran between his home and shop. The

Bell Telephone Company The Bell Telephone Company, a common law joint stock company, was organized in Boston, Massachusetts, on July 9, 1877, by Alexander Graham Bell's father-in-law Gardiner Greene Hubbard, who also helped organize a sister company – the New Englan ...

later opened a small

telephone exchange A telephone exchange, telephone switch, or central office is a telecommunications system used in the public switched telephone network (PSTN) or in large enterprises. It interconnects telephone subscriber lines or virtual circuits of digital syst ...

in his store. In 1887,

Tappan Adney Edwin Tappan Adney (July 13, 1868 – October 10, 1950), commonly known as Tappan Adney, was an American-Canadian artist, writer, and photographer. Biography Edwin Tappan Adney was born in Athens, Ohio, the eldest child of William Harvey Glen ...

, visiting Woodstock, learnt birchbark canoe construction from a

Maliseet The Wəlastəkwewiyik, or Maliseet (, also spelled 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 territory ...

, preserving and document the building process. The headquarters for 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 ...

were here from 1870 until it ceased functioning. The first dam at the mouth of the Meduxnekeag River was built in 1886. In the 1880s Woodstock had two small electric companies related to the Small & Fisher and Connell Brothers iron foundries. These were superseded by the Woodstock Electric Railway Light and Power Company which in 1906 built a dam and a powerhouse on the Meduxnekeag for distribution of power to the town. The first hydro-electric station in New Brunswick, the Hayden dam and its

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many p ...

was destroyed by a freshet in 1923, which also washed out the bridge that crossed the Meduxnekeag. NB Woodstock2 tango7174

Culture & recreation

In 1995, the Town of Woodstock opened the

Carleton Civic Centre The Carleton Civic Centre is an 836-seat multi-purpose arena in Woodstock, New Brunswick. The arena was built in 1995, and also includes an indoor swimming pool, fitness center, community and board rooms. It was home to the Woodstock Slammers ice ...

. The multipurpose complex houses a 25-metre indoor swimming pool, an 846-seat arena, a fitness centre, and community meeting rooms. The

Woodstock Slammers The Woodstock Slammers were a junior "A" hockey team based in Woodstock, New Brunswick. They played as part of the Maritime Junior Hockey League (MHL). The team played their home games at the Carleton Civic Centre, formally known to fans as "Sl ...

of the Maritime Junior Hockey League played previously at the Ayr Motor Centre. The annual Woodstock

Old Home Week Old Home Week or Old Home Day is a practice that originated in the New England region of the United States similar to a harvest holiday or festival. In its beginning in the 19th–20th century it involved a municipal effort to invite former resid ...

activities are centered around Woodstock and the fair grounds at Connell Park. Activities include parades and fireworks, a gospel concert,

4-H 4-H is a U.S.-based network of youth organizations whose mission is "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development". Its name is a reference to the occurrence of the initial letter H four times i ...

activities, Miss New Brunswick talent show & pageant, beautiful baby contest,

horse pulling Horse pulling is a draft horse competition where horses in harness, usually one or two animals, pull a stone-boat or weighted sled and the winner is the team or animal that can pull the most weight for a short distance. There are different weig ...

harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, or spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australi ...

, and a

demolition derby Demolition derby is a non-racing motorsport usually presented at county fairs and festivals. While rules vary from event to event, the typical demolition derby event consists of five or more drivers competing by deliberately ramming their vehic ...

. The Dooryard Arts Festival is four days of music, art, theatre, stories, workshops and an open-air market.

Economy & infrastructure

Education

A campus of the

New Brunswick Community College New Brunswick Community College (NBCC) is a community college located throughout various locations in New Brunswick, Canada including Moncton, Miramichi, Fredericton (its head office), Saint John, St. Andrews, and Woodstock. New Brunswick Co ...

, Townsview School (Grades K-8), Meduxnekeag Consolidated School (Grades K-8), and Woodstock High School.

Transportation

Woodstock is located on

New Brunswick Route 2 Route 2 is a major provincial highway in the Canadian province of New Brunswick, carrying the main route of the Trans-Canada Highway in the province. The highway connects with Autoroute 85 at the border with Quebec and Highway 104 at the border w ...

, an alignment of the

. The shorter

New Brunswick Route 95 Route 95 is a provincial highway in New Brunswick, which connects Interstate 95 (I-95) at the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing near Houlton, Maine, United States to New Brunswick Route 2 (the Trans-Canada Highway) in Woodstock, New Brunswick, ...

extends westward from Woodstock to the Houlton/Woodstock Border Crossing, where it continues into the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The small public Woodstock Airport is in nearby Grafton, New Brunswick.

Mining

Regional geology consists of shales over a Late Ordovician to Early Silurian formation. Iron-

manganese Manganese is a chemical element with the symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of industrial alloy use ...

and

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...

occurrences were reported in 1836 during a

geological survey A geological survey is the systematic investigation of the geology beneath a given piece of ground for the purpose of creating a geological map or model. Geological surveying employs techniques from the traditional walk-over survey, studying outc ...

conducted by the state of

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 ...

. The

Woodstock Iron Works The Woodstock Iron Works ran from 1848 to 1884 and was located in what is now Upper Woodstock, New Brunswick, Canada. In its prime, the iron ore that came from the works was thought to be some of the highest quality ore. The Iron works was closed i ...

ran from 1848 to 1884, closing because of competition from the United States. Today Minco owns 100% of an 880 hectare manganese claim, about 6.3 km northwest of Woodstock. Samples were taken in 2010, 2011, and 2013. Minco plans to produce manganese well below the typical cost for the industry. The manganese would be used in the production of stainless steel.

Media

Woodstock's radio station is

CJCJ-FM CJCJ-FM is a Canadian radio station broadcasting from Woodstock, New Brunswick at 104.1 FM. The station is currently owned and operated by Bell Media. The station broadcasts a country format branded as ''Pure Country 104''. History CJCJ origin ...

. The newspaper is the

Bugle-Observer The ''Bugle-Observer'' is a newspaper based in Woodstock, New Brunswick, which provides local news to Carleton and York Counties. The paper publishes twice weekly, on Tuesday and a weekend edition on Friday. History Woodstock's newspaper began ...

Architecture

Many of the original wooden buildings have not survived into modern times. Calamities over the years included a hurricane in 1836, and fires in 1860, and 1911, As a result, much of downtown was rebuilt in the brick that remains today. Before the arrival of the railway, businesses faced the river banks, since they provided transportation, energy, and water. With the switch to rail and road traffic buildings face roads instead. The

George Frederick Clarke George Frederick Clarke (1883–1974) was a New Brunswick author, historian and amateur archaeologist. Biography He was born in Woodstock, New Brunswick, in 1883. He started writing from an early age. His first published story appeared in ''Cana ...

house, built in 1905, is a provincial historic site valued as a rare example of residential Regency architecture. The

Old Carleton County Court House The Old Carleton County Court House is an 1833 court house in Upper Woodstock, New Brunswick, Canada. The Courthouse was built in 1833. A new courthouse was constructed, obviating the need for the old one, which was used as a horse barn from 1911 ...

was built in 1833. When new court house was constructed, the old one was used as a horse barn from 1911 to 1960 when it was purchased by the

Carleton County Historical Society The Carleton County Historical Society (CCHS), located in southwest New Brunswick, Canada was established in 1960. It maintains an extensive collection of historical artifacts and archival material. They maintain two historic buildings, the Old Car ...

. It was the site of the George Gee trial, and that of

Minnie Bell Sharp Minnie Bell Sharp Adney (January 12, 1865 – April 11, 1937) was a Canadian music teacher and businesswoman. From childhood on she was actively involved in her family's orchard and nursery business. She owned and operated music schools in Vict ...

who ran the Woodstock School of Music in the early 1900s.

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; 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 ...

, Woodstock 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. The

Woodstock First Nation is about 9 km south of the town on 426 acres with an on-reserve population of 291 and an off-reserve population of 721.

Geography & climate

Woodstock experiences 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 freezing ...

(''Dfb''). The highest temperature ever recorded in Woodstock was on 18 August 1935. Woodstock, along with Rexton and

Nepisiguit Falls The Nepisiguit (Grand) Falls generating station is a hydroelectricity, hydroelectric dam built in the Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick and is operated by NB Power corporation. It was purchased by the NB Electric Power Commission in the ea ...

share the record for New Brunswick's highest recorded temperature.

Government

Woodstock elects a mayor and a town council every four years. All councilors are elected at-large. The last election was November 2022. The

chief administrative officer A chief administrative officer (CAO) is a top-tier executive who supervises the daily operations of an organization and is ultimately responsible for its performance. Government and non-profit A CAO is responsible for administrative management of ...

and the administration department is responsible for the town financial matters, record keeping, implementation of policies and directives, and providing support to all other departments and the town council. The position of chief administrative officer was formerly known as town manager. Woodstock was the first town in New Brunswick to have a manager-council form of government. The current mayor of Woodstock is Art Slipp who has held the position since 2008. The Woodstock's other town departments are Business Development, Development & Inspectional Services, Fire, Police, Public Works, Recreation, and Tourism.

References

External links

* {{Authority Control New Brunswick populated places on the Saint John River (Bay of Fundy) Mining communities in New Brunswick Towns in New Brunswick