Woodstock is a town in

Carleton County, New Brunswick Carleton County (2021 population 26,360) is located in west-central New Brunswick, Canada. The western border is Aroostook County, Maine, the northern border is Victoria County, and the southeastern border is York County from which it was f ...

, Canada on the Saint John River, upriver from

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 mouth of the

Meduxnekeag River The Meduxnekeag River ( ), Wolastoqey: ''Metaksonekiyak'') is a tributary of the Saint John River. It is about long. The North Branch Meduxnekeag River rises from the outlet of a small pond () in Maine and runs to its confluence with the Medux ...

. It is near the

Canada–United States border The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...

and

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 ...

and the intersection of

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...

and the

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway (Canadian French, French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the A ...

making it a transportation hub. It is also a service centre for the potato industry and for more than 26,000 people in the nearby communities of Hartland,

Florenceville-Bristol Florenceville-Bristol is a former town in the northwestern part of Carleton County, New Brunswick, Canada along the Saint John River. It held town status prior to 2023 and is now part of the town of Carleton North. History Florenceville ...

, Centreville,

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

and Lakeland Ridges for shopping, employment and entertainment. Woodstock was possibly named after

Woodstock, Oxfordshire Woodstock is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish, north-west of Oxford in West Oxfordshire in the county of Oxfordshire, England. The United Kingdom Census 2021, 2021 census recorded a parish population of 3,521, up from t ...

. The name is

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

in origin, meaning a "clearing in the woods". New Brunswick historian William Francis Ganong believed the parish (and later town) was named in honour of Viscount Woodstock, a junior title of the Duke of Portland,

Prime Minister of Great Britain The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet, and selects its ministers. Modern pr ...

when the

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

s arrived in New Brunswick. On 1 January 2023, Woodstock expanded in all directions, annexing all or part of six

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 ...

s. Revised census figures have not been released.

History

Little is known of the area before it was settled by disbanded veterans of De Lancey's Brigade following 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 ...

. The veterans moved there in late 1783. The 26,000 acres grant was to 110 men. Not all took up the offer, and of those who did, not all stayed. By 1790 only 23 families were present, and by 1804 only 10 of the original men had possession of the land. According to the diaries of Frederick Dibblee mills were present from 1805. Export of timber via the Saint John river began about this time. When Carleton County was created in 1831, Woodstock was made

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

, and a jail, court house and registry office were installed. From 1837 William Teel Baird operated a pharmacy. The first steamboat from Fredericton reached Woodstock in 1837 and a regular service was established in 1845. By 1847 the population was at 2,000 and the town had four churches, a bank, and a grammar school. On

The Twelfth The Twelfth (also called Orangemens' Day) is a primarily Ulster Protestant celebration held on 12 July. It began in the late 18th century in Ulster. It celebrates the Glorious Revolution (1688) and victory of Protestant King William of Ora ...

(Orangemen's Day) of July 1847 a riot took place at the corner of Victoria and Boyne streets near the site of the Orange Hall, built in 1848 and now a vacant lot. It was a conflict between Protestant Irish immigrants of the

Orange Order The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants. It also has lodges in England, Grand Orange Lodge of ...

and Catholic Irish immigrants. Around 250 Orangemen clashed with an equal number of Irish Catholics, leading to 10 deaths and many more injuries. It was a result of years of tensions. Subsequently, only Catholics were brought to trial. According to the 1851, census there were 488 inhabited houses, and nine places of worship. Immigration was important, with the majority coming from Ireland. The town was the first in New Brunswick to be incorporated, in 1856. The first mayor was Lewis P. Fisher. He made provisions in his will for the building of several educational institutions, among them the first Agricultural and Vocational School in Canada, and the L. P. Fisher Public Library. In 1861, the newly built railway between St. Andrews and Woodstock was seized by several hundred navvies, angry at not being paid. A peaceful settlement was later made personally by Arthur Hamilton-Gordon. The first telephone was installed in 1885 by H.V. Dalling, a homemade telephone whose wires ran between his home and shop. The

Bell Telephone Company The Bell Telephone Company was the initial corporate entity from which the Bell System originated to build a continental conglomerate and monopoly in telecommunication services in the United States and Canada. The company was organized in Bost ...

later opened a small

telephone exchange A telephone exchange, telephone switch, or central office is a central component of a telecommunications system in the public switched telephone network (PSTN) or in large enterprises. It facilitates the establishment of communication circuits ...

in his store. In 1887, Tappan Adney, visiting Woodstock, learnt birchbark canoe construction from a

Maliseet The Wolastoqiyik, (, also known as the Maliseet or Malecite () are an Algonquian-speaking First Nation of the Wabanaki Confederacy. They are the Indigenous people of the Wolastoq ( Saint John River) valley and its tributaries. Their terri ...

, preserving and document the building process. The headquarters for the

New Brunswick Railway The New Brunswick Railway Company Limited (NBR) is currently a Canadian non-operating railway and land holding company headquartered in Saint John, New Brunswick that is part of Irving Transportation Services, a division within the J.D. Irving L ...

were here from 1870 until it ceased functioning. The first dam at the mouth of the Meduxnekeag River was built in 1886. In the 1880s Woodstock had two small electric companies related to the Small & Fisher and Connell Brothers iron foundries. These were superseded by the Woodstock Electric Railway Light and Power Company which in 1906 built a dam and a powerhouse on the Meduxnekeag for distribution of power to the town. The first hydro-electric station in New Brunswick, the Hayden dam and its

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...

was destroyed by a

freshet The term ''freshet'' is most commonly used to describe a snowmelt, an annual high water event on rivers resulting from snow and river ice melting. Description A spring freshet can sometimes last several weeks on large river systems, resulting ...

in 1923, which also washed out the bridge that crossed the Meduxnekeag. NB Woodstock2 tango7174

Culture & recreation

In 1995, the Town of Woodstock opened the Carleton Civic Centre. The multipurpose complex houses a indoor swimming pool, an 846-seat arena, a fitness centre, and community meeting rooms. The Woodstock Slammers of the Maritime Junior Hockey League played previously at the Ayr Motor Centre. The annual Woodstock

Old Home Week Old Home Week or Old Home Day is a practice that originated in the New England region of the United States similar to a harvest holiday or festival. In its beginning in the 19th–20th century it involved a municipal effort to invite former resid ...

activities are centered around Woodstock and the fair grounds at Connell Park. Activities include parades and fireworks, a gospel concert,

4-H 4-H is a U.S.-based network of youth organizations whose mission is "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development". Its name is a reference to the occurrence of the initial letter H four times ...

activities, Miss New Brunswick talent show & pageant, beautiful baby contest,

horse pulling Horse pulling is a draft horse competition where horses in horse harness, harness, usually two animals, pull a stone-boat or weighted sled and the winner is the team or animal that can pull the most weight for a short distance. There are differ ...

harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australia ...

, and a

demolition derby Demolition derby is a type of motorsport, usually presented at county fairs and national events. While rules vary from event to event, the typical demolition derby event consists of five or more drivers competing by deliberately ramming their v ...

. The Dooryard Arts Festival is four days of music, art, theatre, stories, workshops and an open-air market.

Economy & infrastructure

Education

A campus of the

New Brunswick Community College New Brunswick Community College (NBCC) is a public college located throughout various locations in New Brunswick, Canada, including Moncton, Miramichi, Fredericton (its head office), Saint John, St. Andrews, and Woodstock. New Brunswick Commu ...

, Townsview School (Grades K-8), Meduxnekeag Consolidated School (Grades K-8), and Woodstock High School.

Transportation

Woodstock is located on

New Brunswick Route 2 Route 2 is a major state highway, provincial highway in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick, carrying the main route of the Trans-Canada Highway in the province. The highway connects with Autoroute 85 (Quebe ...

, an alignment of the

. The shorter New Brunswick Route 95 extends westward from Woodstock to the Houlton/Woodstock Border Crossing, where it continues into the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The small public Woodstock Airport is in nearby Grafton, New Brunswick.

Mining

Regional geology consists of shales over a Late

Ordovician The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and System (geology), system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era (geology), Era, and the second of twelve periods of the Phanerozoic Eon (geology), Eon. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years f ...

to Early Silurian formation. Iron-

manganese Manganese is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese was first isolated in the 1770s. It is a transition m ...

and

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

occurrences were reported in 1836 during a geological survey conducted by the state of

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 ...

. The Woodstock Iron Works ran from 1848 to 1884, closing because of competition from the United States. Today Minco owns 100% of an manganese claim, about northwest of Woodstock. Samples were taken in 2010, 2011, and 2013. Minco plans to produce manganese well below the typical cost for the industry. The manganese would be used in the production of stainless steel.

Media

Woodstock's radio station is CJCJ-FM. The weekly newspapers are the Bugle-Observer and the River Valley Sun.

Architecture

Many of the original wooden buildings have not survived into modern times. Calamities over the years included a hurricane in 1836, and fires in 1860, and 1911, As a result, much of downtown was rebuilt in the brick that remains today. Before the arrival of the railway, businesses faced the river banks, since they provided transportation, energy, and water. With the switch to rail and road traffic buildings face roads instead. The George Frederick Clarke house, built in 1905, is a provincial historic site valued as a rare example of residential

Regency architecture Regency architecture encompasses classical buildings built in the United Kingdom during the Regency era in the early 19th century when George IV was Prince Regent, and also to earlier and later buildings following the same style. The period c ...

. The Old Carleton County Court House was built in 1833. When new court house was constructed, the old one was used as a horse barn from 1911 to 1960 when it was purchased by the Carleton County Historical Society. It was the site of the George Gee trial, and that of Minnie Bell Sharp who ran the Woodstock School of Music in the early 1900s.

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 ...

, Woodstock 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. The

Woodstock First Nation is about south of the town on 426 acres with an on-reserve population of 291 and an off-reserve population of 721.

Geography & climate

Woodstock experiences a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(''Dfb''). The highest temperature ever recorded in Woodstock was on 18 August 1935. Woodstock, along with Five Rivers and Nepisiguit Falls share the record for New Brunswick's highest recorded temperature.

Government

Woodstock elects a mayor and a town council every four years. All councilors are elected at-large. The last election was November 2022. The chief administrative officer and the administration department is responsible for the town financial matters, record keeping, implementation of policies and directives, and providing support to all other departments and the town council. The position of chief administrative officer was formerly known as town manager. Woodstock was the first town in New Brunswick to have a manager-council form of government. The current mayor of Woodstock is Trina Jones who has held the position since 2022. The Woodstock's other town departments are Business Development, Development & Inspectional Services, Fire, Police, Public Works, Recreation, and Tourism.

Notable people

* Tappan Adney (born 1868), artist, writer and photographer * Lindsay Merrithew (born 1964), entrepreneur, actor, and business executive

References

External links

* {{Authority control New Brunswick populated places on the Saint John River (Bay of Fundy) Mining communities in New Brunswick Towns in New Brunswick