Memramcook, New Brunswick

Memramcook
Village

Community of St. Joseph in Memramcook with Saint-Thomas de Memramcook Church

Seal
Motto: "Berceau de l'Acadie"  (French)
"Cradle of Acadia"
Memramcook

Location of Memramcook in New Brunswick

Coordinates: 46°00′15″N 64°33′10″W / 46.00418°N 64.55275°W / 46.00418; -64.55275
Country  Canada
Province  New Brunswick
County Westmorland
Parish Dorchester Parish
Settled 1700s
Incorporated 1966
Government
 • Type Town Council
 • Mayor Donald LeBlanc
 • Councillors
 • MLA Bernard LeBlanc (L)
 • MP Dominic LeBlanc (L)
Area
 • Land 185.71 km2 (71.70 sq mi)
Elevation 0 - 160 m (−520 ft)
Population (2011)
 • Total 4,831
 • Density 26.0/km2 (67/sq mi)
Time zone AST (UTC−4)
 • Summer (DST) ADT (UTC−3)
Canadian postal code E4K
Area code(s) 506
Telephone Exchanges 334, 758
GNBC Code 1307013
Website www.memramcook.com

Memramcook is a Canadian village in Westmorland County, New Brunswick. Located in south-eastern New Brunswick, the community is predominantly people of Acadian descent who speak the Chiac derivative of the French language.

History

Memramcook is called the "Berceau de l'Acadie", which translates to "cradle of Acadia". Long been inhabited by the Mi'kmaq, the site saw the arrival of Acadians in 1700.[1]

Name

The village name is originally Mi'kmaq and means "variegated" referring to the many intricacies of the Memramcook River.[2] The first mention of the area used the spelling Mémérancouque in 1757.[3] The missionaries turned it into Memerancook, Memerancooque (1757), Memeramcook (1803), Memramkook (1812), Mamramcook (1812) and finally Memramcook . There have been several recent controversies about the name, such as people who offer the spelling Memramcouk or Memramkouke.

Deportation

In August 1755, English soldiers were sent to Beaubassin, Petitcodiac, Chipoudy, and Memramcook to take the Acadiens prisoners. However, through guidance by the local missionary, Father LeGuerne, the Acadians hid in the woods. Then, on August 26, Lieutenant Boishébert of Miramichi and 125 soldiers and a group of Micmacs, surprised 200 Englishmen, under the command of Major Joseph Frye. The English had set fire to the church of Chipoudy and 181 homes, as well as 250 houses in Petitcodiac. Boishébert gave the order to attack at the moment that the English were setting fire to the church of Petitcodiac. After three hours of fierce fighting, the English retreated, leaving behind 50 dead, and around 60 wounded. It was thus that 200 families were able to escape the deportation.[1]

Growth

Historical population
YearPop.±%
19914,882—    
19964,904+0.5%
20014,719−3.8%
20064,638−1.7%
20114,831+4.2%

It saw its major growth, both culturally and politically, in the 18th and 19th centuries. The preservation and renaissance of the Acadian culture in Maritime Canada began in this picturesque village, largely as a result of the intervention of the seminary/collegiate at College St-Joseph - one of the founding colleges of the Université de Moncton. College St-Joseph, the first Francophone university in the Maritimes, opened its doors in the village in 1864.

It was also here in 1881 that the First Acadian National Convention was held, and where the feast of the Assumption (August 15) was adopted as the national feast day of the Acadians.

Neighbourhoods

Petitcodiac River, view from New Brunswick Route 925, near Gautreau Village (Memramcook)

Within the village of Memramcook there are several hamlets, villages and neighbourhoods, they include:

Starting on Route 925 North-East border with Dieppe following the Petitcodiac River south, the first community is Dover (aka Pre-of-Surette) where the route is known as Rue Principale as it passes the Little Dover Road. From here you could continue from the west to Little Dover and La-Montagne. The next community on Route 925 is Gautreau Village, then Pre d'en Haut From here the route changes direction going inland. If you were to follow the route following the Petitcodiac River, you would end up on Belliveau Village Road passing through Belliveau Village, Boudreau Village, and finally Beaumont before ending at the southernmost border where the Petitcodiac River and Memramcook River meet. Continue heading east on Route 925 at the community of Pre d'en Haut the route has its name changed to Rue Pre d'en Haut St. and enters Saint-Joseph and the route is briefly known as Central St. You could continue south on Central st passing through Cormier Cove then the southern border of Memramcook and Dorchester or turn north then the route again heads east crossing the Memramcook River as it ends at the community of College Bridge.

Starting at Route 106 at the second North-East border with Dieppe (Route known as Chemin la Vallee) heading south-west the first community is Folly Lake then La-Hetriere. From here you could go onto Little Dover Rd entering both Little Dover and La Montagne from the east or continue on Route 106 passing the Old Shediac Road. On the Old Shediac road you could head towards the north border passing through Memramcook West then passing over Route 2 at the border with Calhoun. Continuing on Route 106 heading east passing Centrale St where you could turn towards Saint-Joseph or cross the Memramcook River entering the original community of Memramcook.

From here you have a choice to go north on Royal Road passing through Gaytons at another Northern Border with the community of Calhoun at Route 2 exit 482, continue east on Route 933 crossing Route 2 exit 488 into Memramcook East where the road is known as Aboujagane Rd at the northeastern most border or continuing south on Route 106. Continuing South on Route 106 from the original community of Memramcook the route passes by Le Lac and Memramcook Lake as it enters College Bridge.

and the eastern terminus of Route 925. Continuing south, the route passes Breau Creek and Anderson Mills as it ends at the south-eastern border of Dorchester.

Economy

Among people aged over 15 years, the participation rate is 68.0%, the employment rate is 63.9% and the unemployment rate is 5.9%, sharply down from the rate of 10.1% in 2001. By way of comparison, in the province are respectively 63.7%, 57.3% and 10.0%, meaning that the economy of Memramcook is generally healthier than the provincial average 28.

Among these jobs, there were 3.5% in agriculture (6.9% provincially), 11.2% in construction (6.7% provincially), 9.9% in manufacturing (10, 8% provincial), 3.4% in wholesale trade (3.6% provincially), 9.7% in retail trade (11.9% provincially), 7.5% in finance and real estate (4.2% provincially), 10.1% in health and social services (11.4% provincially), 6.5% in education (6.5% provincially), 13, 6% in services trade (16.9% provincially) and 23.6% in other services (21.1% provincially) 28.

Among the employed population, 4.5% work at home, 12.4% have no fixed place of work and 82.8% have a fixed place of work. Among workers with a fixed place of work, 20.0% work in the village, 74.5% work elsewhere in the county, 2.9% work elsewhere in the province and 2.6% work in another province 29.

The orchards are a major employer. In the territory including the DSL Dorchester Parish, Dorchester, Fort Folly 1 and Memramcook, there were 55 farmers in 2001, averaging 53.7 years and a total of 45 farms. An area of 283 km 2, 5263 ha were used 30.

There are two branches of the Caisse populaire Dieppe-Memramcook, based in Dieppe and member of Credit Unions Acadian 31.

Education

Provincial public school systems

The following are a list of public schools in the community:

School Name Start End School District Year Open Max Enrolment 2012 Enrolment Notes
École Abbey-Landry K 8 Francophone Sud

Other infrastructure and services

The library service lies in the town hall. It has nearly 14,500 books, including a small collection in English. There are also magazines, music, movies, and two computers available to the public. Located in the same building, the Community Access Centre Memramcook has 9 computers and offers training.

In the field of health, Memramcook has the Foyer Saint-Thomas de Memramcook Valley Inc., an organization non-profit providing housing and care to elderly or disabled. The 5 residences have 100 apartments and 2 clinical extended care with 58 beds. The organization has 33 volunteers. The 2 closest hospitals are "Memorial Hospital" in Sackville which is English at a distance of about twenty kilometers, and a French speaking "Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre" which is French and located in Moncton, a distance of 30 kilometers.

The Fire Department has 48 Memramcook Fire volunteers, Raymond G. Leblanc is the Chief since 2000 while also being vice-president of the Firefighters Association of New Brunswick. The fire department was born from the merger in 2006 of services Pre d'en Haut and Memramcook. It has a central fire station in St. Joseph and a barracks secondary Pre d'en Haut, all with 5 fire trucks. The village has no post of Ambulance New Brunswick and the reaction time is considered too long. For this reason, firefighters also have two trucks and emergency are trained to handle the situation in case of accident or medical emergency, pending the arrival of ambulances 33, 34.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police serves as Police municipal detachment Memramcook including a corporal and four constables. It is part of District 4 RCMP, whose headquarters is located in Shediac.

The planning is the responsibility of the Planning Commission Beaubassin whose main office is located in Shediac, but an agent is available at City Hall.

There are two post offices in Memramcook.

Notable people

Pierre-Amand Landry

Climate

Climate of Memramcook
Temperatures
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Average
Record Maximum (°C) 16 15 19 28 34 34 36 37 33 26 23 18
Daily High (°C) −4 −3 2 8 16 21 24 24 19 12 6 −1 10.4
Daily Mean (°C) −9 −8 −3 3 10 15 19 18 13 7 1 −6 5.1
Daily Low (°C) −14 −13 −8 −2 4 9 13 12 7 2 −3 −10 −0.3
Record Minimum (°C) −32 −32 −27 −16 −6 −2 1 1 −3 −1 −17 −29
Precipitation and Sunshine Hours
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total
Total mm 109 81 103 90 99 94 100 76 92 100 97 106 1144
Rain (mm) 42 28 42 58 93 94 100 76 92 96 77 52 849
Snowfall (cm) 67 53 61 32 5 0 0 0 0 4 20 54 295
Sunshine Hours 115 124 139 158 205 229 248 244 167 142 103 95 1971
Information from Moncton International Airport 10 kilometers northwest of Memramcook, from Environnement Canada. Data taken between 1971 to 2000.

See also

Bordering communities

 Lower Coverdale, (over Petitcodiac River) Dieppe/Greater Lakeburn Calhoun
Hillsborough/Edgetts Landing/Weldon/Stoney Creek (over Petitcodiac River) Beaubassin East
   Memramcook  
Hopewell Cape (over Petitcodiac River) Upper Dorchester/Taylor Village/Woodhurst Sackville

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Memramcook.

References

  1. 1 2 ARSENAULT, Bona, Histoire des Acadiens, Bibliothèque nationale du Québec. 1978. Lemaéac p 79.
  2. ↑ Rand, Silas Tertius (1875-01-01). A First Reading Book in the Micmac Language: Comprising the Micmac Numerals, and the Names of the Different Kinds of Beasts, Birds, Fishes, Trees, &c. of the Maritime Provinces of Canada. Also, Some of the Indian Names of Places, and Many Familiar Words and Phrases, Translated Literally Into English. Nova Scotia Printing Company.
  3. ↑ UNE COLONIE FEODALE (in French). 1889-01-01.

Coordinates: 46°00′N 64°33′W / 46.000°N 64.550°W / 46.000; -64.550 (Memramcook)

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