St. Stephen is a Canadian town in Charlotte County, New Brunswick, situated on the east bank of the St. Croix River around the intersection of New Brunswick Route 170 and the southern terminus of New Brunswick Route 3. The St. Croix River marks a section of the Canada–United States border, forming a natural border between Calais, Maine and St. Stephen. U.S. Route 1 parallels the St. Croix river for a few miles, and is accessed from St. Stephen by three cross-border bridges.
On 1 January 2023, St. Stephen annexed all or part of seven local service districts and was renamed the Municipal District of St. Stephen, retaining town status. Revised census figures have not been released.
History
The Peskotomuhkati people (formerly referred to as the Passamaquoddy) were the first to make their home along the St. Croix River. They dispersed and hunted inland in the winter; in the summer, they gathered more closely together on the coast and islands, and primarily harvested seafood, including porpoise. In 1604, French explorer Samuel de Champlain and his men spent a winter here. The Peskotomuhkati were forced off their original lands repeatedly by European settlers since that time.
Raid on St. Stephen (1704) During Queen Anne's War, in response to the French Raid on Deerfield, New Englander Major Benjamin Church raided the Acadian villages of Castine, Maine (then known as Penobscot). From the Raid on Castine, Church learned that Michel Chartier was granted the land of present-day St. Stephen and was building a fort at Passamaquoddy Bay. Church and his men arrived at the Passamaquoddy Bay on board the Province Galley, Gosport, Fearly, and several other vessels.The History of the Great Indian War, p. 262 Church's Book Church travelled up the St. Croix River to St. Stephen and, on 7 June 1704, took Chartier by surprise and his family fled into the woods. On 13 June, Church reported they were destroying the crops of the Acadians and the Acadians and Peskotomuhkati fired upon Church's troops, resulting in a three-hour exchange. Church killed and imprisoned 35 Acadians and Peskotomuhkati; one of Church's men was wounded, and the community was pillaged and plundered.THE Boston News-Letter No. 10, 19–26 June 1704, p. 2 as recorded in "An historical digest of the provincial press; being a collation of all items of personal and historic reference relating to American affairs printed in the newspapers of the provincial period beginning with the appearance of The present state of the New-English affairs, 1689, Publick occurrences, 1690, and the first issue of the Boston news-letter, 1704, and ending with the close of the revolution, 1783" p. 94 (See Boston News Letter)
After the Raid on St. Stephen, Church moved on to raid other Acadian villages in the Raid on Grand Pré, the Raid on Piziquid, and the Raid on Chignecto.Benjamin Church, Thomas Church, Samuel Gardner Drake. The history of King Philip's war; also of expeditions against the French and Indians in its Eastern parts of New England, in the years 1689, 1692, i696 AND 1704. With some account of the divine providence towards Col. Benjamin Church. pp. 262−270
War of 1812 During the War of 1812, the United States and British North America agreed to a ceasefire on the border between St. Stephen and Calais, as "a collision between those whose dwellings are within gunshot of each other would have produced the most unhappy consequences...and the authorities effectually restrained the violence that sometimes springs from rash and intemperate men."
Incorporation St. Stephen was officially incorporated as a town in 1871.
Controversy over HBRC railway (1873−1875) Immediately prior to Confederation, the Legislature of New Brunswick passed a bill that incorporated the Houlton Branch Railway Company (HBRC) with the aim to build a railway between Debec, New Brunswick and Houlton, Maine. This was in hopes of completing a portion of the St. Andrews and Quebec Railway. In 1870, the Legislature of New Brunswick passed an Act, which authorized Charlotte County to issue debentures to pay a bonus of $15,000 to the HBRC in order to encourage it to complete the railway. The debenture could only be issued if authorized by a public meeting of the ratepayers of St. Stephen, who would assume the obligation of paying for the interest and principal of the debenture. A majority of the ratepayers of St. Stephen duly passed the necessary vote and the County issued the debenture. Some residents of St. Stephen who opposed the measure challenged the tax assessment in the Supreme Court of New Brunswick, arguing that the provincial Legislature lacked the constitutional authority to authorise a tax to support the building of an international railway, as that would intrude on the exclusive legislative authority of the Parliament of Canada.
In 1873, the Supreme Court of New Brunswick ruled that the provincial taxation statute was unconstitutional, because it intruded on federal jurisdiction over inter-jurisdictional railways.e Queen v. Dow (1873), 14 N.B.R. 300 (N.B. S.C.). The supporters of the railway measure appealed the case to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, at that time the court of last resort for Canada within the British Empire. The Judicial Committee, in the case of Dow v Black, allowed the appeal and held that the taxation statute was within provincial authority.Dow v. Black (1875), L.R. 6 P.C. 272, UKPC 17 (P.C.)
Downtown gutted by fire (1877) In 1877, St. Stephen's business district was almost destroyed by fire when 80 buildings and 13 wharves burned.
Economy of the 20th century
Prior to World War II, St. Stephen's local economy was heavily based in the lumber and ship building industry. At the end of the 18th century, there were no fewer than one hundred various dry docks and slips along the river, shared by the cities of Calais and St. Stephen. Prominent families in the area, such as the Merchies and the Todds, ran much of the town's economy due to the monopoly they had on the St. Croix River system. Lumbering companies were located along both the Canadian and American sides of the river, each branding its logs with a unique symbol. By the early 1900s, 200 ships had been built in the St. Croix waters.Doherty, Doug. Milltown. St. Stephen NB: Parsons Printing, 2004 However, by the end of World War II, the town's main employers were Ganong Bros., Canada's oldest candy company (founded in 1873), and the St. Croix Cotton Mill. Opened in June 1882, the mill became Canada's second-largest textile operation, with 20,000 spindles and its own hydroelectric generating station—the Milltown Dam. Until recently, electricity generated by the Milltown Dam was exported to the United States, connected to a 69kV transmission circuit owned by the Eastern Maine Electric Cooperative, an electric utility serving Calais. In 1957, the textile mill closed, and it was demolished in 1972. At one time, the St. Croix Cotton Mill employed as many as 1200 persons at peak periods. Ganong remains a key employer.
Circa 1866, the Douglas Axe Manufacturing Company built their factory on Dennis Stream. In 1883, it was purchased by E. Broad & Sons, who operated the company until 1895 when a new company was formed under the name of St. Stephen Edge Tool Co. In 1911, Harry Broad formed the Mann Axe & Tool Co. with Charles Heustis as president and manager. With two storeys of the original factory now in use, they acquired the buildings of the Bug Death Chemical Co. On 29 January 1915, the St. Croix Water Power Company and the Sprague's Falls Manufacturing Company Limited petitioned for approval of a dam and power canal and the obstruction, diversion, and use of the waters of the St. Croix River at Grand Falls. The state of Maine and the province of New Brunswick both decided on this matter, as it would affect both communities equally. The decision was made 9 November 1915.International Joint Commission, and Henry A. Powell. 1916. Washington: Govt. Print. Off. The new factory began operation in 1922. The factory was water powered from Dennis Stream and the original Hercules water turbine was still in use. In 1930, the factory became a victim of the Great Depression. It managed to continue operating until 1943, at which time the business finally closed.
Municipal amalgamation (1973) In 1973, St. Stephen amalgamated with the town of Milltown to form St. Stephen–Milltown;New Brunswick Regulation 73-99. the name was simplified to St. Stephen in 1975.New Brunswick regulation 75-59.
Chocolate Festival Every August since 1985, the town hosts a week-long Chocolate Fest. The festival mascots are the Great Chocolate Mousse and Tiffany, his wife. The spotlight on chocolate resulted in the opening of The Chocolate Museum in 1999 and its expansion in 2009. In 2000, St. Stephen was given the title of "Canada's Chocolate Town."
December 2010 flood
On 13 December 2010, a rainstorm caused flooding upstream on a tributary of Dennis Stream. The flood severely impacted businesses on or near King Street. The flood led to widespread layoffs, and the Sobeys store eventually closed down. The flooding was linked to the replacement of a trestle bridge over Dennis Stream with culvert pipes, which local business owners criticized as providing inadequate drainage.stcroixcourier.ca: "Last of flooded businesses moving home" , 19 Apr 2011
Demographics In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, St. Stephen 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.
Language Canada Census Mother Tongue – St. Stephen, New Brunswick Census Total Year Responses Count Trend Pop % Count Trend Pop % Count Trend Pop % Count Trend Pop % 4,510 0.2% 95.75% 100 4.8% 2.12% 10 n/a% 0.21% 90 20.0% 1.91% 4,500 2.3% 96.15% 105 16.0% 2.24% 0 0.0% 0.00% 75 275.0% 1.60% 4,400 5.6% 96.81% 125 7.4% 2.75% 0 100.0% 0.00% 20 55.5% 0.44% 4,660 n/a 95.98% 135 n/a 2.78% 15 n/a 0.31% 45 n/a 0.93%
Climate The climate of St. Stephen is temperate but is greatly affected by the size of the Bay of Fundy. The Bay is a cool body of water which acts as an air conditioner in the summer and diverts major snow storms in the winter. The Bay never freezes. The average summer temperature is 22 °C, and the average winter temperature is −3.9 °C.
Environment Canada maintains a testing program for water quality at the Milltown Dam generating station.gc.ca: "2009 Annual Automated Water Quality Monitoring Report - St. Croix River at Milltown Dam"
International border
The St. Croix River marks a section of the international boundary between the United States and Canada, forming a natural border between the towns on either side of the riverbank. This section of the river and the surrounding land were heavily contested by the French and the English during the 1600s, as both sides believed the riverine territory should belong to them. Later, the river was designated as part of the boundary between the United States and Canada, and many assumed the international line would follow the middle of the main channel. However, numerous smaller tributaries and islands remained unassigned and were not clearly allocated to either country.
In 1852, Robert Cooney wrote A Compendious History of the Northern and Eastern Parts of the Province of New Brunswick, where he noted that the churches in St. Stephen were complicit in the large amount of cross-border smuggling that took place.
The government dock—more akin to a small pier—is subject to a 6.7-metre (22 ft) tidal range, which limits marine trade to a minimal level.marinas.com: "St Stephen Town Landing", consulted Oct 2014 Calais is connected to St. Stephen by the Ferry Point International Bridge, Milltown International Bridge, and the newest crossing at the International Avenue Border Crossing, which began construction in 2008 and officially opened in January 2010.