Simonds Parish, Carleton County, New Brunswick

Simonds is a civil parish in Carleton County, New Brunswick, Canada, located north of Woodstock on the western bank of the Saint John River.

Prior to the 2023 governance reform, for governance purposes it was comprised one local service district and part of one town, both of which were members of the Western Valley Regional Service Commission (WVRSC).

The Census subdivision of Simonds Parish includes all of the civil parish except the town of Florenceville-Bristol.

Origin of name

The parish may have been named in honour of Charles Simonds, Speaker of the House of Assembly when the parish was erected, or his family, who were prominent in the early history of the province.

History

Simonds was erected in 1842 from northern Wakefield Parish. It included Wilmot Parish, a narrow wedge of Wicklow Parish, and part of Maine claimed by New Brunswick.

Boundaries

Simonds Parish is bounded: Remainder of parish on map 101 at same site. Remainder of parish on mapbooks 287, 288, 304, and 305 at same site.

* on the north by the northern line of land grant at the mouth of Whitemarsh Creek and its prolongation;
* on the east by the Saint John River;
* on the south by the southern line of a land grant at the mouth of the Little Presque Isle Stream and its prolongation;
* and on the west by two reserved lines running east of the Charleston Road and west of or along the Mount Delight and Wilmot Roads.
* The parish also includes the islands in front of it in the Saint John River.

Evolution of boundaries

Simonds inherited a northern boundary that began at the mouth of Whitemarsh Creek and ran westerly along a line parallel to that of Woodstock Parish, which ran closer to due west than today's line. The western line was implicitly changed a few months after its erection by the Webster–Ashburton Treaty which settled the remainder of New Brunswick's land boundaries with Maine.

In 1850 the consolidation of legislation setting New Brunswick's internal boundaries moved the northern line of Simonds more than a kilometre upriver to the northern line of a grant to Henry M. Green and its prolongation westward, a line which also ran more steeply to the south than the original line. This added a strip of Wicklow Parish that included the northern part of Centreville.

In 1869 the western polling district of Simonds, created in 1867, was erected as Wilmot Parish.

In 1870 the northern boundary was moved south to its current location, transferring territory to Wicklow Parish.

Municipality

The town of Florenceville-Bristol is located at the northeastern corner of the parish, along the Saint John River.

Local service district

The local service district of the parish of Simonds comprises all of the parish that is not part of Florenceville-Bristol.

The LSD was established in 1966 to assess for fire protection. Community services were added in 1967.

Today Simonds assesses for community & recreation services in addition to the basic LSD services of fire protection, police services, land use planning, emergency measures, and dog control. The taxing authority is 214.00 Simonds.

LSD advisory committee: Yes, as of 2018. Chair Tena McLellan sat on the WVRSC board of directors from August 2016 until June 2018.

Communities

Communities at least partly within the parish. bold indicates an incorporated municipality

* Connell
* Florenceville-Bristol
* Hunters Corner
* St. Thomas

* Simonds
* Strong Corner
* Wilmot

Bodies of water

Bodies of waterNot including brooks, ponds or coves. at least partly within the parish.
* Saint John River
* Big Presque Isle Stream
* Little Presque Isle Stream

Islands

Islands at least partly within the parish.
* Becaguimec Island
* Lower Presque Isle Island

Other notable places

Parks, historic sites, and other noteworthy places at least partly within the parish.
* Florenceville Airport

Demographics

Parish population total does not include portion within Florenceville-Bristol

Population

Population trendStatistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006 census

Language

Mother tongue language (2016)

See also

* List of parishes in New Brunswick

Notes

References

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Parishes of Carleton County, New Brunswick