Debec is a community in Carleton County in the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

. An outdoor community park known locally as "The Field of Dreams" was established in the early 2000s, giving local residents a place to ice skate, play volleyball and baseball. It hosts the annual summer celebration each August, "Debec Days," which is facilitated by the Debec Recreation Council.

History

Debec was named after George De Beck who settled there in 1835. Before that it was known as ''Blairs Mills'' after Andrew Blair, surveyor and father of premier

Andrew George Blair Andrew George Blair (March 7, 1844 – January 25, 1907) was a Canadian politician in New Brunswick, Canada. He served as the seventh premier of New Brunswick for 13 years and 136 days, the second-longest tenure in the province's history, behin ...

. It is southwest of

Woodstock The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held from August 15 to 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. Billed as "a ...

, and close to the

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

border. It developed as a

railway junction A junction, in the context of rail transport, is a place at which two or more rail routes converge or diverge. The physical connection between the tracks of the two routes (assuming they are of the same gauge) is provided by turnouts (US: switc ...

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , 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 Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

trains ran along the north-south tracks from Woodstock to McAdam, and Debec was a junction for trains running from Woodstock to

Houlton, Maine Houlton is a town in and the county seat of Aroostook County, Maine, United States, 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 Int ...

. The border between Maine and New Brunswick was fluid in the late 19th and early 20th century - at least for people. Men followed the work to Maine, particularly for forestry and railroading. Many young men from Debec and the surrounding areas followed the jobs of the CPR to Brownville Junction, Maine, a midpoint in the CPR route across Maine to

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

and

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. Debec was a prosperous community from the late 1870s through to the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Farming declined after that period as the mechanization of farm operations gradually diminished the viability of farming - the cause - too high a rock content in the soil. Where the horse could prosper, the tractor of that day could not. However more recently farming has made a comeback in some parts of the community with several large operations now growing crops. Debec once had a branch of the

Bank of Nova Scotia The Bank of Nova Scotia (), operating as Scotiabank (), is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. One of Canada's Big Five banks, it is the third-largest Canadian bank by deposits and ...

. When it opened in November 1919, the village had 6 stores, a grist mill, several potato shipping operations and was one of the busiest points for freight on the CPR rail lines in Carleton County. The high hopes for success at Debec however were never fully realized. By 1922 the Manager was reporting that "Low prices of farm produce and losses last season in potatoes are the chief causes of the large reduction in current account and savings balances. Farmers were obliged to borrow much more heavily this year than last." Another factor contributing to the poor showing of the branch was the competition from banks in Houlton, where interest rates of 4% were offered on deposits (compared with 3% offered by The Bank of Nova Scotia). Farmers of the area were depositing their money in Houlton banks and doing all their regular shopping there as well." The bank branch was closed in May 1925 and accounts were transferred to the Woodstock Branch. The great depression and tougher times still were just ahead.

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; ), 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 culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Debec had a population of 104 living in 42 of its 50 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 98. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.{{cite web , url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/cv.action?pid=9810001201 , title=Population and dwelling counts: Canada and designated places , publisher=

, date=February 9, 2022 , accessdate=January 2, 2025

Education

Debec is currently home to a Fire Station and Post Office, the Debec General Store and the Carleton County Animal Shelter. Debec has two community halls, one at Trinity United Church, and the other at the Debec Women's Institute Hall. The W.I. Hall was once the village's school house. Generations of children attended there before it closed for good in the 1960s. When the school was opened in 1952 it was named the Debec Consolidated High School. It served a number of communities in South Richmond as a grade 6-12 school for 15 years - 1952 to 1967. The youth of that era are now retired or about to and are planning a major celebration of their school, their community and their heritage in 2012. The Debec Area Home Coming will be held from August 3–5, 2012 and promises to be a grand event in the long history of the area. Debec also has a Community Access Centre where the public can take advantage of low-cost internet access and educational upgrades, Debec is an incorporated Local Service District.

Religion

The former St. Agnes' Catholic church was closed in the 1980s and has since been torn down. The village once had a large two story hall in the centre of the community but it too was torn down in the early 1970s. Trinity United Church (United Church of Canada) still offers services, and its meeting hall is used for a variety of community events.

References

Communities in Carleton County, New Brunswick Designated places in New Brunswick Local service districts of Carleton County, New Brunswick

History

Demographics

Education

Religion

See also

References