Plaster Rock | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 46°53′N67°23′W / 46.883°N 67.383°W Coordinates: 46°53′N67°23′W / 46.883°N 67.383°W | |
Country | Canada |
Province | New Brunswick |
County | Victoria |
Parish | Gordon |
Municipality | Tobique Valley |
Founded | 1881 |
Area | |
• Land | 3.01 km2 (1.16 sq mi) |
Population (2021) [1] | |
• Total | 1,002 |
• Density | 332.9/km2 (862/sq mi) |
• Change 2016–21 | 2.1% |
• Dwellings | 515 |
Time zone | UTC-4 (AST) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-3 (ADT) |
Postal code(s) | |
Area code | 506 |
Website | www |
Plaster Rock is a former village in Victoria County, New Brunswick. It is now part of the village of Tobique Valley.
Plaster Rock’s first settlers were Hezekiah Day and his two brothers, who arrived in 1881. Plaster Rock was incorporated as the Village of Plaster Rock on November 9, 1966. Hezekiah Day gave Plaster Rock its name based on the hill on the other side of the Tobique River – the rock is made up of gypsum, or plaster.
The second settlers, Mr. & Mrs. Henry Ridgewell, arrived in 1882. The third settler was a gentleman named David Roulston and his family. [2]
Primarily English, the town is historically a logging and lumbering community. Known as the Gateway to Mount Carleton Provincial Park, the community is the source of business, commerce, banking, grocery shopping, and religious and sport gatherings for the surrounding hamlets and homes of the Tobique River region. The Tobique River, which has its source Nictau Lake at Mt. Carleton Provincial Park, flows through the tiny communities of Nictau, Riley Brook, Oxbow, Plaster Rock, Arthurette, Red Rapids, and empties into the Saint John River above Perth-Andover.
The Tobique First Nations Reserve is located where the Tobique and Saint John Rivers come together. The town has 6 churches, namely a Catholic Church, an Anglican Church, a Free-will Baptist Church, a United Baptist Church, a United Church of Canada, and a Pentecostal Church. The average congregation is 20-45 members of the first 5 churches, with the Pentecost church being an exception with a congregation of approximately 400 members, who are in part from the village of Plaster Rock, but mostly from the surrounding region of Victoria County. The Pentecostal Church also has its own private school, the only other school in the village aside from the village`s Public Junior and High Schools.
Plaster Rock is home of the World Pond Hockey Championships, which take place annually in February on Roulston Lake, featuring 120 teams from around the world. In 2016 Wayne Gretzky attended the event and Budweiser introduced its 20-metre goal-light as it began its trek across Canada and eventually to the North Pole. [3] [4]
In June, Fiddlers on The Tobique is a large event attracting tourists and visitors from all over the world as they put approximately 1300 canoes into the waters and float accompanied by fiddlers and their Maritime music.
Plaster Rock gets a rebroadcasting signal of CIKX-FM, and is heard at the frequency of 88.3 MHz.
On 1 January 2023, Plaster Rock annexed all or part of three local service districts to form the new village of Tobique Valley. [5] [6] The community's name remains in official use. [7]
On January 7, 2014, 17 cars of a 122-car train derailed and caused a huge fireball near Plaster Rock. The petroleum products originated in Western Canada and were destined for the Irving Oil Refinery in Saint John, New Brunswick, [8] because in the wake of the Lac Megantic derailment the MM&A line through Lac Megantic can no longer be used to transport dangerous goods. As a result, Irving Oil uses the CN line from Montreal through Quebec City that crosses over the bridge to the South shore through Rimouski and Matane and then through Plaster Rock to Saint John. Nobody was injured during the blaze but about 150 people were evacuated. [9]
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Plaster Rock had a population of 1,002 living in 476 of its 515 total private dwellings, a change of -2.1% from its 2016 population of 1,023. With a land area of 3.01 km2 (1.16 sq mi), it had a population density of 332.9/km2 (862.2/sq mi) in 2021. [1]
Perth-Andover is a community in Victoria County, New Brunswick, Canada. It held village status prior to 2023.
Grand Falls is a town in northwestern New Brunswick, Canada, on the Saint John River. Its name comes from a waterfall created by a series of rock ledges over which the river drops 23 metres (75 ft).
Victoria-Tobique was a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, Canada. This riding was created in the 1973 redistribution when New Brunswick moved to single member districts. It had previously been part of the Victoria district which returned two members.
Lac-Mégantic is a town in the Estrie region of Quebec, Canada. It is located on Lac Mégantic, a freshwater lake after which the town was named. Situated in the former Frontenac County in the historic Eastern Townships, Lac-Mégantic is the seat of Le Granit Regional County Municipality and of the judicial district of Mégantic.
Bath is a community on the Saint John River in Carleton County, New Brunswick, Canada. It held village status prior to 2023.
Route 108 is a highway in New Brunswick, Canada; running from Trans-Canada Highway exit 75 near Grand Falls to Route 8 exit 163 at Derby Junction ; a distance of 202.9 kilometres.
Route 109 is a highway in New Brunswick, Canada; Its western terminus starts along the Tobique River on Route 105 in Perth-Andover. The route travels east where the route is known as Gulch Road passing through Craig Flats, Quaker Brook and Currie where it begins following the Tobique River again. The route then passes through Licford and Arthurette where it crosses the Tobique River briefly merging with Route 390 from the south side to the north side continuing to follow the river east. The route passes by Picadilly then passes by eastern terminus of Route 380 in Saint Almo. The route continues through Three Brooks and the western terminus of Route 395, then passes Ox Island entering Linton Corner where the route is now known as Main Street as it enters Plaster Rock. The route ends at the intersection of Route 108 and Route 385 near Roulston Lake, a distance of 35.9 kilometres.
New Denmark is a rural community in Victoria County, New Brunswick, Canada. The community is situated in rolling hills east of the Saint John River valley several kilometres south of Drummond. Its main industry is potato farming and related industries. Once the site of several schools, they have all closed and students in New Denmark can choose to continue school in nearby Grand Falls or Plaster Rock.
The Tobique River is a river in northwestern New Brunswick, Canada. The river rises from Nictau Lake in Mount Carleton Provincial Park and flows for 148 kilometres to its confluence with the Saint John River near Perth-Andover.
The World Pond Hockey Championships is an annual international competition that takes place outdoors, on a body of frozen water, playing the pond hockey variant of ice hockey. The event takes place in the small, rural village of Plaster Rock, New Brunswick, Canada, on Roulston Lake.
Arthurette is a Canadian farming community in Victoria County, New Brunswick. It is located on the Tobique River halfway between the villages of Plaster Rock and Perth-Andover. The community is located where the Route 109 and Route 390 change banks of the Tobique River.
Eldon is a civil parish in Restigouche County, New Brunswick, Canada.
Lorne is a civil parish in Victoria County, New Brunswick, Canada.
Gordon is a civil parish in Victoria County, New Brunswick, Canada.
Perth is a civil parish in Victoria County, New Brunswick, Canada.
The Irving Oil Refinery is a Canadian oil refinery located in Saint John, New Brunswick. It is currently the largest oil refinery in Canada, capable of producing more than 320,000 barrels (51,000 m3) of refined products per day. Over 80 per cent of the production is exported to the United States, accounting for 19 per cent of the country's gasoline imports and 75 per cent of Canada's gasoline exports to the US.
Route 385 is a 88-kilometre (55 mi) long mostly east–west secondary highway in the northwest portion of New Brunswick, Canada.
Route 390 is a 12-kilometre (7.5 mi) long mostly east–west secondary highway in the northwest portion of New Brunswick, Canada.
In rail transport, the U.S. DOT-111 tank car, also known as the TC-111 in Canada, is a type of unpressurized general service tank car in common use in North America. Tank cars built to this specification must be circular in cross section, with elliptical, formed heads set convex outward. They have a minimum plate thickness of 7⁄16 inch (11.1 mm) and a maximum capacity of 34,500 US gallons. Tanks may be constructed from carbon steel, aluminum alloy, high alloy steel, or nickel plate steel by fusion welding.