Weldford Parish, New Brunswick

Weldford
Parish
Location within Kent County, New Brunswick.
Coordinates: 46°28′12″N65°05′33″W / 46.47°N 65.0925°W / 46.47; -65.0925
Country	Canada
Province	New Brunswick
County	Kent County
Erected	1835
Area [1]
• Land	607.56 km2 (234.58 sq mi)
Population  (2021) [1]
• Total	1,335
• Density	2.2/km2 (6/sq mi)
• Change 2016-2021	0.2%
• Dwellings	720
Time zone	UTC-4 (AST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-3 (ADT)
Figures do not include portion within the Richibucto 15 Indian reserve Population change reflects revision of 2016 figure

Weldford is a geographic parish in Kent County, New Brunswick, Canada. ^[4]

For governance purposes it is divided between the villages of Five Rivers and Nouvelle-Arcadie, ^[5] which are both members of the Kent Regional Service Commission, ^[6] and the Richibucto 15 Indian reserve, which is not.

Prior to the 2023 governance reform, all of the parish outside the Indian reserve formed the local service district of the parish of Weldford. ^[7]

Origin of name

Weldford was a portmanteau of the names of the two Kent County Members of the Legislative Assembly in 1835, John W. Weldon and John P. Ford. ^{[8] [9]}

History

Weldford was erected in 1835 from Richibucto Parish. ^[10]

Boundaries

Weldford Parish is bounded: ^{[2] [11] [12] [13]}

• on the north by a line due west from the northernmost corner of the Richibucto 15 Indian reserve;
• on the east by a line running southerly along the eastern border of the main part of the Richibucto 15 Indian reserve to the Richibucto River, downstream to the mouth of the St. Nicholas River, up the St. Nicholas and then the East Branch St. Nicholas River to the mouth of Black Brook, then southerly to the Wellington Parish line at a point west of the East Branch Road;
• on the south by the prolongation of a line running south 68º west ^{[lower-alpha 1]} from the mouth of the Rivière Chockpish-nord;
• on the west by a line running north 22º west, based on the magnet of 1867, ^{[lower-alpha 2]} from a point on the Westmorland County line twenty miles (32.2 kilometres) west of the northern tip of Shediac Island.

Communities

Communities at least partly within the parish; ^{[11] [12] [13]} bold indicates an Indian reserve; italics indicate a name no longer in official use

• Balla Philip
• Bass River
• Bass River Point
• Beersville
• Brest
• Browns Yard
• Bryants Corner
• Cails Mills
• Clairville
• East Branch
• Emerson
• Ford Bank
• Fords Mills
• Jailletville
• Kent Junction
• Lower Main River
• Molus River
• Mundleville
• Normandie
• Pine Ridge
• Richibucto 15 (Big Cove)
• Saint-Joseph
• Saint-Norbert
• Smiths Corner
• South Branch
• Targettville
• Village-Saint Augustin
• West Branch

Bodies of water

Bodies of water ^{[lower-alpha 3]} at least partly in the parish: ^{[11] [12] [13]}

• Bass River
• Coal Branch River
• Kouchibouguacis River
• Molus River
• Richibucto River
• St. Nicholas River
• Bells Creek
• Big Cove Creek
• Clares Creek
• Gaspereau Creek
• George Beers Creek
• McKays Creek
• Big North Fork
• Little North Fork
• Lac Saint-Joseph

Islands

Islands at least partly in the parish: ^{[11] [12] [13]}

• Jerrys Island

Other notable places

Parks, historic sites, and other noteworthy places at least partly in the parish. ^{[11] [12] [13] [16]}

• Blind Brook Protected Natural Area
• Richibucto River Protected Natural Area

Demographics

Parish population does not include Richibucto 15 Indian reserve

Population Population trend [17] [18] [19] Census Population Change (%) 2016 1,338 1.5% 2011 1,318 7.6% 2006 1,426 2.8% 2001 1,467 6.0% 1996 1,561 0.1% 1991 1,560 N/A

Language Mother tongue (2016) [19] Language Population Pct (%) English only 1,105 82.5% French only 190 14.2% Other languages 35 2.6% Both English and French 10 0.7%

Religion

There are several Catholic churches in Weldford Parish, all belonging to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Moncton:

• St. Bartholomew mission in Bass River,
• Saint-Norbert in Saint-Norbert, ^[20] and
• St. Peter in South Branch. ^[21]

Bass River Presbyterian Church in 1886

Also there are four Presbyterian churches, belonging to Bass River Pastoral Charge, The Presbytery of New Brunswick, Synod of the Atlantic Provinces:

• St. Marks Presbyterian Church in Bass River,
• St. James Presbyterian Church in Beersville,
• St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Clairville, and
• Zion Presbyterian Church in West Branch.

The United Church of Canada has two congregations, belonging to Rexton Pastoral Charge, Chignecto Presbytery, Maritime Conference:

• St. Stephen's United Church in Molus River, and
• St. John's United Church in West Branch.

And there is one Anglican church, belonging to the Parish of Kent, Archdeaconry of Moncton, Diocese of Fredericton.

• St. Paul's Church in Browns Yard.

See also

• List of parishes in New Brunswick

Notes

1. By the magnet of 1850, ^[14] when declination in the area was between 21º and 22º west of north. ^[15]
2. Declination at the time was about 21º west. ^[15]
3. Not including brooks, ponds or coves.

References

1. "Census Profile". Statistics Canada. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
2. "Chapter T-3 Territorial Division Act". Government of New Brunswick. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
3. "Chapter I-13 Interpretation Act". Government of New Brunswick. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
4. The Territorial Division Act ^[2] divides the province into 152 parishes, the cities of Saint John and Fredericton, and one town of Grand Falls. The Interpretation Act ^[3] clarifies that parishes include any local government within their borders.
5. "Kent Regional Service Commission: RSC 6". Government of New Brunswick. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
6. "Regions Regulation – Regional Service Delivery Act". Government of New Brunswick. 21 July 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
7. "Local Service Districts Regulation - Municipalities Act". Government of New Brunswick. 25 June 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
8. Ganong, William F. (1906). Additions and Corrections to Monographs on the Place-Nomenclature, Cartography, Historic Sites, Boundaries and Settlement-origins of the Province of New Brunswick. Royal Society of Canada. p. 53. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
9. "Weldford Parish". Provincial Archives of New Brunswick. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
10. "5 Wm. IV c. 19 An Act to erect the South-Western part of the Parish of Richibucto into a separate and distinct Parish.". Acts of the General Assembly of His Majesty's Province of New-Brunswick, Passed in the Year 1835. Fredericton: Government of New Brunswick. 1835. pp. 28–29. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
11. "No. 88". Provincial Archives of New Brunswick. Department of Natural Resources and Energy Development. Retrieved 11 June 2021. Remainder of parish on maps 89, 98, and 99 at same site.
12. "250" (PDF). Transportation and Infrastructure. Government of New Brunswick. Retrieved 11 June 2021. Remainder of parish on mapbooks 251–253, 266–269, 283–285, and 300 at same site.
13. "Search the Canadian Geographical Names Database (CGNDB)". Government of Canada. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
14. "13 Vic. c. 51 An Act to consolidate all the Laws now in force for the division of the Province into Counties, Towns and Parishes.". Acts of the General Assembly of Her Mjaesty's Province of New Brunswick, Passed in the Year 1850. Fredericton: Government of New Brunswick. 1850. pp. 142–152, 145–149. Retrieved 27 March 2021. Book was poorly proofread, resulting in title typo and reuse of page numbers 145–152.
15. "Historical Magnetic Declination". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
16. "Explore New Brunswick's Protected Natural Areas". GeoNB. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
17. Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006 census
18. 2011 Statistics Canada Census Profile: Weldford Parish, New Brunswick
19. "Census Profile, 2016 Census Weldford, Parish [Census subdivision], New Brunswick". Statistics Canada. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
20. St-Norbert - St-Norbert
21. St. Peter's - South Branch

External links

• Weldford Local Service District Advisory Committee
• New Brunswick Provincial Archives - Weldford Parish
• Softball New Brunswick Championship Results
• Richibucto River Association
• Kent County Gen web
• West Branch Days featured on Ruby Cusack
• Eleanor Wilson Graham Middle School
• The Green Festival
• Biography Willi Nolan
• Krista Betts receives Award
• Wild Heart of Kent

46°28′12″N65°05′33″W / 46.47000°N 65.09250°W / 46.47000; -65.09250 (Weldford Parish, New Brunswick)