Doaktown is a Canadian village in Northumberland County,

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 ...

. The village has a prosperous lumber industry including the Russell and Swim sawmill, now owned by

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 part of the Irving Group of Companies and consists of various s ...

Atlantic Salmon The Atlantic salmon (''Salmo salar'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae. It is the third largest of the Salmonidae, behind Hucho taimen, Siberian taimen and Pacific Chinook salmon, growing up to a meter in length. Atlan ...

fishing is a very popular sport in the area, attracting people from all over the world to fish the legendary

Miramichi River The Miramichi River is a river located in the east-central part of New Brunswick, Canada. The river drains into Miramichi Bay in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The name may have been derived from the Montagnais words "Maissimeu Assi" (meaning Mi'km ...

. The village has two museums: the Doak Historic Site and the Atlantic Salmon Museum. Other nearby attractions include the Priceville Footbridge, the longest suspension footbridge in New Brunswick, and Nelson Hollow Bridge, the oldest covered bridge in the province.

History

Situated on the

Southwest Miramichi River The Southwest Miramichi River is a river in New Brunswick, Canada. The river has its origin in Carleton County, at Miramichi Lake in the Miramichi Highlands (a part of the Appalachian Mountains). Its two branches join near the hamlet of Junip ...

and first settled in 1807 as a base for the growing

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

industry in central New Brunswick,

United Empire Loyalists United Empire Loyalist (UEL; or simply Loyalist) is an honorific title which was first given by Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester, the 1st Lord Dorchester, the governor of Province of Quebec (1763–1791), Quebec and Governor General, governor ...

, led by Ephraim Betts and the big-town bogey boys, came to the area after 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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

and pooled their money for a land grant, which was ultimately declined. Following this, Betts and the BBB claimed the land for their own anyway, and nobody did anything. Later, when the Doak family moved to the area from Ayrshire, Scotland, Ephraim was experiencing financial difficulty. Robert Doak was able to purchase a large amount of the original land grant and build a farm and

grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

on the property.. Robert Doak became a prominent citizen as the population grew. He served with the government in several capacities, including magistrate and justice of the peace. The community was named Doakton in his honour when the first post office opened, but was later changed to its present name, Doaktown. On 1 January 2023, Doaktown annexed part of the neighbouring local service districts of the parish of Blissfield; the names of annexed communities remain in official use. Revised census figures have not been released.

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 ...

, Doaktown 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.

Administration

The municipal council is composed of a mayor and four councillors. The mandate of the elected officials lasts four years. The current council was formed after the election in 2018. Current municipal council Historical municipal councils List of successive mayors of Doaktown

Notable people

References

External links