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Woodstock, NB |
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The Town of Woodstock shares the colorful history of the St. John River Valley largely settled by Loyalists following the American War of Independence. The upper limit of Loyalist grants on the river fell to members of Colonel DeLancey’s 1st Battalion New Jersey Volunteers, and the members that accepted the land moved there early in the summer of 1784. Three small settlements were formed in this new area named Woodstock and they were: the Upper Corner; the Creek Village; and Lower Woodstock. When Carleton County first came into being in 1832, Upper Woodstock was made the shiretown due to the influence of Colonel Richard Ketchum who had donated land for construction of public buildings. The Old County Courthouse is now a much-visited historic site under restoration by the Carleton County Historical Society. However, after a bridge was built across the Meduxnekeag River, there was rapid growth of the Creek Village and this resulted in its dominance as the Town of Woodstock. Woodstock, incorporated in 1856, is the oldest incorporated town in New Brunswick. The first mayor, Mr. L.P. Fisher, who held office until his voluntary retirement some 24 years later, was a great benefactor. He made provision 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 Memorial Library which is well worth a visit. The Meduxnekeag River, in the heart of Woodstock, provided power at it’s mouth for sawmills and grist mills, the beginning of industrial activity that came to include tanneries, carriage factories, a woolen mill, two foundries producing stoves, furnaces and agricultural machinery, etc. Presently, Woodstock is the shopping centre for the surrounding area with stores, services, restaurants and motels waiting to serve you. However, if you would rather be hunting, fishing, boating, or hiking, Woodstock has all that too. Woodstock remembers that when the first settlers came here it was an axiom with them that no visitor, known or unknown, should pass through the community without sharing its hospitality. The tradition remains strong in the shiretown of Carleton County today. Come in and see why we are known as “The Hospitality Town”.
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