Pennfield 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 authorit ...

in Charlotte 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 ...

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, located west of Saint John located east of St. George and west of Saint John. Prior to the 2023 governance reform, it comprised one village and two

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 Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) ...

s, all of which were members of the Southwest New Brunswick Service Commission (SNBSC). The

Census subdivision The census geographic units of Canada are the census subdivisions defined and used by Canada's federal government statistics bureau Statistics Canada to conduct the country's quinquennial census. These areas exist solely for the purposes of stat ...

of the same name includes all of the parish except the village of Blacks Harbour.

Origin of name

The parish was named by

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...

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 C ...

settlers of the area for

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...

, early Quaker leader and founder of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

History

Pennfield was erected in 1786 as one of the county's original parishes; it included Lepreau Parish, the southern part of Clarendon Parish, and a small piece of Saint George Parish.

Boundaries

Pennfield Parish is bounded: Remainder of parish on maps 163 and 166 at same site. Remainder of parish on mapbooks 471, 481, 482, 491, 492, 497–499, and 502 at same site. * on the north by a line running true west from the southernmost corner of Queens County; * on the east by a line running

true north True north (also called geodetic north or geographic north) is the direction along Earth's surface towards the geographic North Pole or True North Pole. Geodetic north differs from ''magnetic'' north (the direction a compass points toward t ...

from the mouth of the Pocologan River; * on the west by the prolongation north and south of the western line of grants straddling Lake Utopia, then south along a line running through the Letang River and Letang Harbour; * on the south by the

Bay of Fundy The Bay of Fundy (french: Baie de Fundy) is a bay between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine. It is an arm of the Gulf of Maine. Its extremely high tidal range is t ...

. * also including any islands within of the shore and The Wolves, a group of islands more than offshore.

Evolution of boundaries

Pennfield's original northern boundary was a prolongation of the southern line of the Cape Association grant in Saint David Parish, which runs south of Robinson Creek Road in Saint David Ridge. The prolongation passes near the northern end of Loon Lake in Clarendon Parish before striking the Queens County line. A small part of Saint George Parish near the head of the Letang River was also part of Pennfield; all islands in the river and Letang Harbour were part of Saint George. In 1814 the parish was extended northBecause Pennfield's northern line was based on Saint George's, Pennfield probably expanded when Saint George did. This has been the norm in New Brunswick since the first boundary changes in 1787. If Pennfield was an exception, then the boundary was moved north in 1850. to the county line, adding the rest of Clarendon. In 1850 the boundary with Saint George Parish near the head of the Letang River was changed to its modern line. In 1857 the eastern part of Pennfield was erected as LePreau Parish. In 1868 all of the parish north of the most southern point of Queens County was included in the Clarendon District, a polling district that also included the northern part of Lepreau Parish. In 1869 the northern part of Pennfield was included in the newly erected Clarendon Parish. In 1877 the boundary through the Letang River and Letang Harbour was changed, transferring some islands to Pennfield.

Municipality

The village of Blacks Harbour sits at the southwestern corner of the parish's mainland.

Local service districts

Both LSDs assess for the basic LSD services of

fire protection Fire protection is the study and practice of mitigating the unwanted effects of potentially destructive fires. It involves the study of the behaviour, compartmentalisation, suppression and investigation of fire and its related emergencies, as we ...

, police services,

land use planning Land use planning is the process of regulating the use of land by a central authority. Usually, this is done to promote more desirable social and environmental outcomes as well as a more efficient use of resources. More specifically, the goals ...

, emergency measures, and dog control.

Pennfield Parish

The local service district of the parish of Pennfield originally included all of the parish outside Blacks Harbour. The LSD was established in 1970 to assess for fire protection. First aid and ambulance services were added in 1979. Today the LSD additionally assesses for community & recreation services. The taxing authority is 512.00 Pennfield.

Beaver Harbour

Beaver Harbour comprises an area on the western side of Beaver Harbour, including the eastern part of the old town plat and running north to the junction of Mountain Road and Waite's Lane. The community of Beaver Harbour outgrew the boundaries of the LSD by 2013. The LSD was established in 1971 to add street lighting and community services. First aid and ambulance services were added in 1979. Today Beaver Harbour additionally assesses street lighting and community & recreation services. The taxing authority is 524.00 Beaver Harbour. Beaver Harbour is the only LSD in Charlotte County with street lighting.

Communities

Communities at least partly within the parish. bold indicates an incorporated municipality * Beaver Harbour * Blacks Harbour ** Tunaville * Crow Harbour * Deadmans Harbour * Justasons Corner * Pennfield * Pennfield Corner * Pennfield Ridge * Pennfield Station * Seeleys Cove *

Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island soc ...

* Utopia Centre * Wallace Cove * Woodland

Bodies of water

Bodies of waterNot including brooks, ponds or coves. at least partly within the parish. ''italics'' indicate a name no longer in official use * Letang River (''L'Etang River'') * Little New River * Little Pocologan River * New River * Pocologan River * Cripps Stream * Red Rock Stream * Trout Lake Stream * Buckmans Creek * Crow Creek * Wards Creek * Beaver Harbour * Blacks Harbour * Crow Harbour * Deadmans Harbour * Letang Harbour (''L'Etang Harbour'') * Red Head Harbour * Seeleys Basin * Eastern Chops * The Basin * more than fifty other officially named lakes

Islands

Islands at least partly within the parish. ''italics'' indicates a name no longer in official use * Cochranes Island * Moose Island (''Little Moose Island'') * Munson Island * Peat Island * Penn Island * Tub Island * The Wolves ** Eastern Wolf Island ** Flat Wolf Island (''Fatpot Island'') ** Green Rock (''Gull Rock'') ** Horseshoe Rock ** Southern Wolf Island ** Spruce Island (''Flat Wolf Island'')

Other notable places

Parks, historic sites, and other noteworthy places at least partly within the parish. * Lepreau River Wildlife Management Area * New River Protected Natural Area * Pocologan Protected Natural Area * Utopia Wildlife Refuge

Demographics

Population

Language

Access Routes

Highways and numbered routes that run through the parish, including external routes that start or finish at the parish limits:Atlantic Canada Back Road Atlas Pages 4, 12 *Highways ** *Principal Routes ** *Secondary Routes: ** ** ** ** *External Routes: **None

Notes

References

{{coord, 45.21119, N, 66.656113, W, name=Pennfield Parish, New Brunswick, display=title, region:CA-NB_type:adm3rd_scale:100000 Parishes of Charlotte County, New Brunswick Local service districts of Charlotte County, New Brunswick