Mi'kmaq and French communities (before 1765) Long prior to European settlement, the Miramichi region was home to members of the
Mi'kmaq first nation. For the Mi'kmaq,
Beaubears Island, at the junction of the Northwest and Main Southwest branches of the
Miramichi River was a natural meeting point. Following the European discovery of the
Americas, the Miramichi became part of the French colony of
Acadia. About 1648,
Nicolas Denys, Sieur de Fronsac, established a fort and trading post, Fort Fronsac, on the Miramichi. This establishment was apparently constructed "on the North side of the Miramichi, at the forks of the river". According to
W.F.Ganong, a Recollet Mission was established in 1686 on the Miramichi "in Nelson", "probably near Beaubear's Island". Nicolas Denys' son, Richard Denys, was placed in charge of the fort and trading post, and in 1688 Richard states, "Miramichi is the principal place of my residence", and describes his establishment as including about a dozen French and more than 500 indigenous inhabitants. In 1691 Richard died at sea; the post declined. The following account from the Dictionary of Miramichi Biography describes in greater detail the extent of the Denys' Miramichi base:"The domain of Nicholas Denys, governor of Acadia, extended along the southerly side of the Gulf of St Lawrence, from Miscou Island to Cape Breton. It may have included a trading post at Miramichi in the 1640s, but the first extensive French establishment on the river was that of Denys's son Richard Denys. He began to cultivate land along the Miramichi in 1684. In 1688 he had a fort with gun emplacements, a house built of freestone, and a storehouse. There were three French families at the fort, and he had men employed catching fish. Nearby there were approximately eighty Micmac wigwams."The site of Denys's establishment, which is considered to have been on the north side of the Miramichi opposite the Point - that is, near the former pulp mill site in Newcastle - was abandoned by 1691. In August of that year, when he was thirty-seven years old, Denys set sail for Quebec in the ship Saint-François-Xavier, which was never heard of again. His estate passed to his widow in 1694 and was still owned by members of the family in Quebec in the 1750s."By about 1740 French villages were well established on
Miramichi Bay at
Bay du Vin and
Neguac. In the current city of Miramichi, a larger village existed at Canadian Point, and a town comprising 200 houses, a chapel, and provision stores occupied "Beaubear's Point". The French maintained batteries of guns at the east end of
Beaubears Island and at
French Fort Cove.
French and Indian War The
French and Indian War erupted in 1754. During the war many Acadian homes were destroyed by the British, and their residents were deported (see the
Expulsion of the Acadians). In 1757, the French general,
Charles Deschamps de Boishébert et de Raffetot attempted to evade British troops in the
Saint John River Valley and the
Bay of Fundy, by leading 900 French refugees up the northeast coast of New Brunswick to Miramichi, establishing a camp, "Camp de l’Espérance", on
Beaubears Island. After the
Siege of Louisbourg (1758), Boishebert led a group of Acadians from
St. Peter's, Nova Scotia to Miramichi. Over 200 of the refugees died at the camp. On 13 August 1758 French officer Boishebert left Miramichi with 400 soldiers, including Acadians from
Port Toulouse, for Fort St George (
Thomaston, Maine). His detachment reached there on 9 September but was caught in an ambush and had to withdraw. They then went on to raid
Friendship, Maine, where British settlers were killed and others taken prisoner. This was Boishébert’s last Acadian expedition. From there, Boishebert and the Acadians went to Quebec and fought in the
Battle of Quebec (1759). In September 1758 Colonel
James Murray reported spending two days in Miramichi Bay during the
Gulf of St. Lawrence Campaign looking unsuccessfully for Acadians, but destroying anything he found. This included burning the first stone church built in New Brunswick (at the site of the present-day community of
Burnt Church). Murray did not sail as far west as Beaubear's Island. Most of the surviving Beaubear's Island refugees soon left the Miramichi, seeking refuge in
Quebec. Some Acadians, however, remained and escaped British attempts at deportation. They eventually established (or re-established) a host of small Acadian communities along the northern and eastern coasts of present-day New Brunswick.
Scottish and Loyalist immigration (1765–1800) The French were defeated at
Quebec (1759) and
Montreal (1760), and the remaining Miramichi settlement was subsequently burned to the ground by British Commodore
John Byron (Foul-Weather Jack) in 1760. The French North American colonies (apart from
Saint Pierre and Miquelon) were ceded to the British in the 1763
Treaty of Paris. The Miramichi thus became a part of the British colony of
Nova Scotia, and later
New Brunswick. Benjamin Marston, a surveyor and the first sheriff, reported in 1785 that "a considerable French Village" had existed on
Wilson's Point (adjacent to Beaubear's Island, the present-day site of the Enclosure). Although they were preceded by the
Acadians, credit for the first permanent white settlement at Miramichi is often granted to Scottish settlers, led by
William Davidson. William Davidson (a.k.a. John Godsman) and John Cort had obtained a large grant encompassing much of the Miramichi region in 1765, and promoted the area in both
Scotland and
New England as a new home to potential settlers.
American Revolution and Battle at Miramichi (1779) At the beginning of the American Revolution the Mi’kmaq and Maliseet were supportive of the Americans against the British. They participated in the
Maugerville Rebellion and the
Battle of Fort Cumberland in 1776. Three years later, in June 1779, Mi’kmaq in the Miramichi attacked and plundered some of the British in the area. The following month, British Captain Augustus Harvey, in command of , arrived in the area and battled with the Mi’kmaq. One Mi’kmaq was killed and 16 were taken prisoner to Quebec. The prisoners were eventually brought to Halifax, where they were later released upon signing an oath of allegiance to the British Crown on 28 July 1779. After the battle, Davidson temporarily found refuge along the
Saint John River. A subsequent treaty signed 22 September 1779 ensured a more peaceful coexistence. Following the
American Revolution some
loyalist families moved to Miramichi. Davidson's original grant was revoked, and competition for the best lands escalated tensions between the early Scottish and new loyalist settlers.
Great Miramichi Fire of 1825 In 1825, a large forest fire, among the worst in recorded history of North America, devastated a number of communities in northern New Brunswick.
Irish immigration (1815–1850) The Irish began arriving in Miramichi in numbers after 1815 at the end of the
Napoleonic War and with a few exceptions ceased coming to the area before the
Great Irish Famine of 1847. They came to the area voluntarily to better their lives. Contrary to prevailing belief, not all of them were Catholic though very few Protestants among them identified openly as Irish and most of their descendants in Miramichi do not do so even to this day. Most arrived from the ports of Belfast and Cork each of which had strong commercial ties with Miramichi. Like the Scots, they came on timber ships as individuals or, in small family groups. The average age upon arrival was twenty-four. There was some chain emigration whereby additional family members joined the emigrant later but this was minimal. The Miramichi River valley was not settled by large transplantations of Scottish clans or large scale movements of starving and evicted Irish. Though there are one or two interesting exceptions. In 1815 after trade had developed with Newfoundland, Miramichi was surprised and shaken by the arrival of the so-called "Two Boaters", perhaps as many as 2000. These were the Irish who had taken advantage of cheap fares to St. John's in the spring and summer of 1815. They were mostly poor laborers and farmers and it seems that initially they settled mainly in the Chatham/Douglastown area. With no prospect of obtaining a land grant, jobs in the woods or in the mills were the only means of getting established. Most of them were able to get at least temporary employment upon arrival, but it was short lived. In 1819, a sharp decline in timber prices resulted in massive layoffs in Miramichi including most of the "Two Boat" Irish of the Chatham area. Following their grueling experience in St. John's and now unemployed, they became disenchanted by their newfound misery so many miles from home. They began to create disturbances in the village of Chatham. Violent outrages were committed in broad daylight, property was stolen and in the worst cases houses and barns were burned to the ground. The people of the area soon dubbed them "those uncivilized immigrants from Ireland", whom local magistrates were powerless to control. But the Irish were not the only troublemakers along the river at that time. They were often mistakenly blamed for outrageous disturbances caused by unruly sailors idling about the port during the spring and summer months. These idle sailors whooped it up at Miramichi particularly on Sundays when the taverns were closed but often the Irish got the blame. In 1822, a detachment of the 78th regiment stationed in
Fredericton was temporarily sent to Chatham to keep the peace. But it was not the soldiers of 78th regiment who quieted the Irish. It took an improved economy, jobs and newfound opportunity to do the trick. Immigration from Ireland influences the Miramichi region's accent. It differs from other
Atlantic Canadian English dialects and with terminology.
The Looshtauk Tragedy (1847) Unlike the ports of Quebec, Saint John, St Andrews, Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, Charleston and New Orleans, Miramichi did not receive large numbers of destitute and starving Irish during the famine years. Fewer than four so-called coffin ships made it to Miramichi between 1844 and 1849 with less than three hundred people on board. They were ships plying to Quebec with sick and dying passengers, stricken with cholera and other diseases. They diverted to 'Miramichi in desperation and on arrival were quarantined at Middle Island where they were treated in appalling conditions. There was great fear of them and some Miramichers including the Irish referred to them as
yellow mealers believing all they had had to eat was corn. The arrival of the famine ship
Looshtauk on June 2, 1847, was a major tragedy at Miramichi. She left Liverpool for Quebec with 462 passengers on board. During the first two weeks at sea more than 100 died of sickness and the majority of the crew contracted severe fever and were unfit for duty. With only a few able seamen available to man the ship and few other options, the captain headed to the nearest port - Miramichi. When news of the dire conditions on board became known she was forbidden by the port authorities to dock even at Middle Island. The captain could not get permission to land the sick and dying or to bury the dead for over six days in which further severe anguish and the loss of forty more lives occurred. The arrival of two more famine ships the Richard White and the Bolivar further exacerbated the problem. The authorities finally but reluctantly constructed temporary shelters on the island and allowed the sick passengers and crew to land. A further fifty or so people died in the makeshift facilities provided, including the young Chatham doctor John Vondy who volunteered to stay full-time to administer to the sick and dying and within a few days succumbed to the fever himself.
The Irish in the 1870s and 1880s By the 1870s the Irish were well established in Miramichi and by this decade less than 20% of them were recent immigrants. In total they represented forty percent of the population of the region spread fairly evenly over the entire Miramichi watershed. Eighty percent were Catholic and only the upriver parish of
Ludlow had a Protestant Irish majority. By the 1880s they controlled 15% of businesses and professions in the town of Chatham and probably the same number in Newcastle. However the majority were still listed as skilled and unskilled workers.
Industry and politics (1765–1850) Alexander Rankin at Douglastown Although subsistence farming constituted one part of the new settlement's economy, the thin, acid soils of the Miramichi were not conducive to agriculture; thus, the lumber industry and
Atlantic salmon fishery were the mainstays. A
shipbuilding industry was established by Davidson in 1773, largely to facilitate overseas lumber exports, including masts for the British navy, and to provide winter employment for the men. Davidson's first ship, "Miramichi", was lost with her cargo off the Spanish coast. Miramichi benefited greatly from the
Napoleonic Wars and
American independence, as Britain became dependent on its remaining North American colonies, including New Brunswick, for lumber. However, the
1825 Miramichi fire, the advent of steel-hulled ships, and perhaps over-cutting of
eastern white pine, would eventually contribute to a long-term decline in the area's economy. The Miramichi Fire burnt almost 1/4 of New Brunswick's forest, and consumed most of the buildings along the northern side of the river. Only 12 buildings remained in Newcastle. The towns of Newcastle and Chatham developed a long history of rivalry, including a small "war" fought between the communities ("the fighting election of 1843"). The 1843 election was fought on a political level between John T. Williston of Chatham (supported by local entrepreneur
Joseph Cunard of Chatham, brother of
Samuel Cunard) and
John Ambrose Street of Newcastle (backed by the prominent lumber baron,
Alexander Rankin of Douglastown). The Rankin and Cunard factions literally fought the election in the streets of
Newcastle and
Chatham with sticks, stones, coal and other missiles.
Railway (1875–1950) In 1875, the region's largest construction project in history was completed when the federal government's
Intercolonial Railway (ICR) opened between
Moncton and
Campbellton. The following year it would link
Halifax with
Rivière-du-Loup and the Canadian railway network. One of the biggest geographic obstacles presented in the project was the crossing of the
Miramichi River. Surveyors deemed the ideal location for bridging to be at the upper reaches of tidewater between
Nelson and
Newcastle, crossing the
Southwest Miramichi, then a short section of land at Derby, followed by the
Northwest Miramichi. The combined length of these bridges would be among the largest constructed to date in Canada (surpassed only by the
Victoria Bridge in Montreal) and were the first bridges over the
Miramichi River, revolutionizing transport in the region. The ICR bypassed Chatham by running through Newcastle and then on to the north and west. Within a decade, the
Canada Eastern Railway was built to link
Chatham with
Fredericton, along the length of the
Southwest Miramichi River valley. In 1904, the Canada Eastern was purchased by the ICR. In 1915, the ICR became part of
Canadian Government Railways and 3 years later in 1918 it became part of the
Canadian National Railway (CNR). CNR operated express passenger trains along the main line from Halifax to Montreal via Newcastle, most notably the
Ocean Limited, along with various local trains to Fredericton, Moncton and Campbellton. The
Dungarvon Whooper provided passenger service along the
Canada Eastern Railway from Newcastle to Fredericton. The ports and railways serving Newcastle and Chatham burgeoned with activity as the 19th century lumber industry gave way to the 20th century developments in pulp and paper, and mining.
20th century industry and politics As the shipbuilding,
masting and lumber industries waned,
pulp and paper production eventually replaced lumber exports as the mainstay of the area's economy. A valuable sports fishery developed, attracting "sports" initially from adjacent
New England, and subsequently from all parts of the world. In the mid 20th century, an air force base,
CFB Chatham, became the cornerstone of Chatham's economy. The discovery of base metal deposits (lead, zinc, copper, silver, and traces of gold).) and the development of
Heath Steele Mines, 60 km to the northwest, allowed Newcastle's economy to diversify and strengthen through the 1960s. The mine and air force base had both closed by 1999 as the mine's ore body was depleted, and with the collapse of the
Cold War. The forest industry reemerged as the dominant player in the city's economy today. In the 20th century the rivalry between Newcastle and Chatham continued, expressed chiefly through sports, politics, and in competition for businesses and government largesse. In 1994 then Premier
Frank McKenna (the Member of the
Legislative Assembly for Chatham) developed and implemented a plan for merging the communities. The
amalgamation of the former towns and villages to form the City of Miramichi was controversial at the time, and remains so today, due in part to the strong identities that each of the communities possessed. The 1995 amalgamation of the communities served to limit local rivalries, giving the region a larger and more united voice in promoting the region. In addition to this, many smaller communities in the
Miramichi Valley felt that the name of the newly formed city was a threat to their tourism industry, and to their identity as "Miramichiers". ==Economy==