Past Lives: New Horton

A tiny red building with a sign saying "New Horton School 1934-1961" stands near Provincial Highway 915 in Albert County, about an hour's drive north of Moncton.  New Horton and its sister community Upper New Horton are located between the marshes on the west shore of Chignecto Bay and New Horton Lake.

The area is believed to have been first settled in 1798 by people who migrated from Horton, Nova Scotia.  (The township of Horton NS no longer exists as such; its approximate location is in the vicinity of Grand Pré and Wolfsville, King's County.) 

Following the Acadian Deportation of the 1750s and 1760s, both shores of Chignecto Bay were quickly populated by Loyalists from New England and Irish immigrants.  Farming settlements sprang up as more land became available; by the mid-1800s the area around New Horton supported a population of about 150 people, and the town itself boasted a post office and church.  Historical maps show that at one point, much of the acreage west of the town was owned by two men: Robert Dickson and Jesse Converse.

Like so many of its contemporaries, the community dwindled as farm automation made menial workers unnecessary, families became smaller, and people moved elsewhere in search of better opportunities.  Today the area comprises a few farms, cottages, a bird sanctuary, and campgrounds.  A great deal of the farmland has returned to forest, and a kilometer-long body of water noted on maps as Long Marsh Lake is now mostly dry - likely a casualty of climate change-related drought.


* Photo courtesy of Andrew MacDonald, 2019

Past Lives: Waterside

Times change, and when faced with adversity or dwindling communities, rural dwellers frequently move to more urban areas and leave their homes, schools, and churches behind.  Eventually most abandoned buildings fall prey to vandals and nature.

Waterside is a tiny community of farms and cottages on the shore of the Bay of Fundy in Harvey Parish, Albert County, New Brunswick.  First settled in 1805, by 1898 Waterside was a farming community with one store, three sawmills, one church and a population of 255.  Major landowners included families by the names of Anderson, Ackerley, Chandler, Downey, and Copp.

On present-day County Road 915 is the Waterside United Baptist Church Cemetery.  The original building was constructed in 1854 as the Baptist Meeting House of Roshea.  Later the United Baptist Church was built on the site in 1899 and dedicated in 1900 with a membership of 154.  In January of 2012, the church was struck by lightning and burned to the ground.  Its foundations are still visible but it's unknown as to whether it will be rebuilt.

A short way down the road is the boarded-up Waterside School.  At one time it served the communities of Waterside, Little Rocher, Anderson's Hollow, Roshea, and Dennis Beach.  However as the "consolidation" movement gained momentum and enrolment declined due to families moving out of the area, many rural schools were closed.  Waterside School closed its doors in 1967 and students now attend Riverside Consolidated School in the town of Riverside-Albert.

The area is now sparsely populated with fewer than 100 people but is known for its local wineries, scenic beaches, and the Cape Enrage Nature Preserve.

Photo courtesy of Phyllis and Melven Dewolfe, circa 2010