Dorchester is a geographic parish in Westmorland 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 ...

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. For governance purposes it is divided between the city of

Dieppe Dieppe (; ; or Old Norse ) is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department, Normandy, northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newhaven in England ...

, the town of Tantramar, the incorporated rural community of

Strait Shores Strait Shores is a local government district called a rural community in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. It was formed through the 2023 New Brunswick local governance reforms. History Strait Shores was incorporated on January 1, 2023 ...

, the Fort Folly 1

Indian reserve In Canada, an Indian reserve () or First Nations reserve () is defined by the '' Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." ...

, and the Southeast rural district. With exception of the Indian reserve, all are members of the Southeast Regional Service Commission. Prior to the 2023 governance reform, the parish was divided between the villages of Dorchester and

Memramcook Memramcook, sometimes also spelled Memramcouke or Memramkouke, is a village in Westmorland County, New Brunswick, Canada. Located in south-eastern New Brunswick, the community is predominantly people of Acadian descent who speak the Chiac de ...

; the Indian reserve; and the

local service district Local service district may refer to these administrative units in Canada: * Local service district (New Brunswick) A local service district (LSD) was a provincial administrative unit for the provision of local services in the Canadian province o ...

of the parish of Dorchester, which further included the special services area of Calhoun Road.

Origin of name

The parish was named in honour of the Baron of Dorchester,

Governor General of British North America The governor general of Canada () is the federal representative of the . The monarch of Canada is also sovereign and head of state of 14 other Commonwealth realms and resides in the United Kingdom. The monarch, on the advice of his or her Ca ...

at the time and elder brother of

Thomas Carleton General Thomas Carleton ( 1735 – 2 February 1817) was an Irish-born British Army officer who was promoted to colonel during the American Revolutionary War after relieving the siege of Quebec in 1776. After the war, he was appointed as Lie ...

Governor of New Brunswick The following is a list of the lieutenant governors of New Brunswick. Though the present day office of the lieutenant governor in New Brunswick came into being only upon the province's entry into Canadian Confederation in 1867, the post is a co ...

Boundary History

Dorchester was erected in 1787 from unassigned territory between

Moncton Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the The Maritimes, Maritime Provinces. Th ...

and Sackville Parishes. The parish included parts of modern Moncton, Sackville, and Shediac Parishes. In 1827 the northeastern part of Dorchester was included in the newly erected Shediac Parish. In 1835 all of Dorchester north of a line due east from the mouth of Fox Creek was transferred to Moncton Parish. In 1894 northern line was changed to a magnetic bearing running 6° 15' south of due east. The 1894 boundaries were made retroactive to the erection of the parish.

Boundaries

Dorchester Parish is bounded: Remainder of parish on maps 132, 133, and 144 at same site. Remainder of parish on mapbooks 360, 380, 381, 400, and 401 at same site. * on the north by a line running south 83º 45' east from the southern side of the mouth of Fox Creek to a point about 5.75 kilometres past the

Memramcook River The Memramcook River is a river located in Westmorland County, in southeastern New Brunswick, eastern Canada. Geography Its meander length is approximately , of which approximately is a tidal estuary to its discharge point into the Petitcodiac ...

; * on the east and southeast by a line running south 11º west about 24 kilometres to a point about 100 metres south of Route 106, on the prolongation of the southeast line of a grant to John Sherwood on Shepody Bay, then running along the prolongation and grant line to strike Shepody Bay at the junction of Ralph Stiles Road and Route 935; * on the west by Shepody Bay and the

Petitcodiac River The Petitcodiac River () is a river located in south-eastern New Brunswick, Canada. Local tourist businesses often refer to it as the "chocolate river" due to its distinctive brown mud floor and brown waters. Stretching across a meander length o ...

Communities

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

Calhoun John C. Calhoun (1782–1850) was the 7th vice president of the United States. Calhoun can also refer to: Surname * Calhoun (surname) Inhabited places in the United States *Calhoun, Georgia * Calhoun, Illinois *Calhoun, Kentucky * Calhoun, Louis ...

* Cherry Burton *

** Upper Dover * Dorchester * Dorchester Cape * Fort Folly 1 * Middleton * Taylor Village * Upper Dorchester * village of Memramcook ** Beaumont ** Belliveau Village ** Boudreau Village ** Breau Creek ** College Bridge ** Cormier Cove ** Dover ** Gautreau Village ** Gaytons ** La Hêtrière ** La Montagne ** Le Lac ** Little Dover ** McGinleys Corner ** MemramcookThe community of Memramcook is part of the village of Memramcook. ** Memramcook East ** Memramcook West ** Pré-d'en-Haut ** Saint-Joseph

Bodies of water

Bodies of waterNot including brooks, ponds or coves. at least partly within the parish. *

* Belliveau Creek * Boudreau Creek * Boyd Creek * Breau Creek * Cormier Cove Creek * Downing Creek * Grindstone Creek * LeBlanc Creek * McFarlane Creek * Palmers Creek * Rockwell Creek * Steeves Creek * Stony Creek * Turner Creek * Upper Creek * Shepody Bay * Folly Lake * Memramcook Lake

Other notable places

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

Dorchester Penitentiary The Dorchester Penitentiary ( French: Pénitencier de Dorchester) is a Canadian federal corrections facility located in the village of Dorchester, New Brunswick. It shares a property with Westmorland Institution and Shepody Healing Centre. ...

* Johnson's Mills Protected Natural Area * Shepody Healing Centre * Westmorland Institution

Demographics

Parish population total does not include the village of Dorchester,

, Fort Folly 1, and the portion within

Population

Language

Mother tongue (2016)

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 *Highways ** *Principal Routes ** *Secondary Routes: ** ** *External Routes: **None

Notes

References

{{coord, 46.023668, N, 64.603729, W, name=Dorchester Parish, New Brunswick, display=title, region:CA-NB_type:adm3rd_scale:100000 Parishes of Westmorland County, New Brunswick Local service districts of Westmorland County, New Brunswick