Stanley is a former village in
York 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 ...
of
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 ...
; it was an incorporated village until the end of 2022 and is now part of the rural community of
Nashwaak.
History
Stanley straddles the
Nashwaak River 30 km north of
Fredericton
Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River (Bay of Fundy), Saint John River, ...
at the intersection of
Route 107 and
Route 620. The area was colonized in 1833 when a group associated with the
New Brunswick and Nova Scotia Land Company became interested in the area. Early impressions of the land were not positive, with surveyors noting the rocky soil as one problem. The general remoteness of the location was also a problem.
Initial immigrants to Stanley arrived in three waves. The first was young children and teens from London. The second was farmers and tradesmen from the Eastern Borders of Scotland and England. The third arrived from the Isle of Skye.
In 1846, were established as the
Parish of Stanley. By 1951, there were 130 residences, and 149 stores and barns.
The village is home to the annual Stanley Fair, the longest continuously running
agricultural fair in Canada. The first edition of the fair was held in October 1851, although it is now held in the summer.
The first
sawmill
A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...
was constructed at the bottom of Stanley hill in 1856, by the
New Brunswick and Nova Scotia Land Company.
There were schools in
Tay Creek,
North Tay,
Fredericksburg,
Currieburg,
Limekiln,
Red Rock,
English Settlement,
Tay Falls,
Tay Valley,
Giants Glen,
Ward Settlement,
Cross Creek,
Green Hill,
Maple Grove,
Williamsburg, and
Napadogan.
After decades of economic decline the area may be set for a boom. The Trans-Canada Pipeline, natural gas exploration and a
tungsten and molybdenum mine near Stanley. However there are concerns about the environmental impact these projects may have on the environment, including the Nashwaak River.
On 1 January 2023, Stanley amalgamated with parts of four
local service districts to form the new
incorporated rural community of
Nashwaak.
The community's name remains in official use.
Demographics
In the
2021 Census of Population 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 ...
, Stanley 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.
[
]
Notable people
* Matthew Wuest: Sports reporter and founder of CapGeek
See also
*List of communities in New Brunswick
This is a list of communities in New Brunswick, a province in Canada. For the purposes of this list, a community is defined as either an incorporated municipality, an Indian reserve, or an unincorporated community inside or outside a municipal ...
References
Village of Stanley
{{Subdivisions of New Brunswick, towns=yes, villages=yes, counties=yes, state=expanded
Former villages in New Brunswick
Communities in York County, New Brunswick
2023 disestablishments in New Brunswick