St. George, New Brunswick

St. George
Magaguadavic River gorge and the St. George Power hydro plant
Magaguadavic River gorge and the St. George Power hydro plant
Official seal of St. George
Nickname: 
Granite Town
Motto: 
A Community Strong
St. George is located in New Brunswick
St. George
St. George
Location within New Brunswick.
Coordinates: 45°08′N 66°49′W / 45.133°N 66.817°W / 45.133; -66.817
CountryCanada
ProvinceNew Brunswick
CountyCharlotte
MunicipalityEastern Charlotte
Settled1783
Incorporated1904
Area
 • Land16.17 km2 (6.24 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[1]
 • Total1,579
 • Density97.7/km2 (253/sq mi)
 • Change (2016–21)
Increase 4.1%
 • Dwellings
751
Time zoneUTC-4 (AST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-3 (ADT)
Postal code(s)
Area code506
Highways
Route 1
Route 172

Route 760
Route 770
Websitewww.townofstgeorge.com

St. George is a community in the Rural Community of Eastern Charlotte, in Charlotte County, New Brunswick, Canada; it was a town until the end of 2022 and is now part of the rural community of Eastern Charlotte. It is located where the Magaguadavic River flows into the Bay of Fundy, between Passamaquoddy Bay and Lake Utopia.

The area was surveyed in 1786. First called Magaguadavic, it was renamed Granite Town after the nearby red-granite quarries. In 1829 it was renamed to the current name, and a post office was established. By 1898 the town's port served the Shore Line Railway, and there were three hotels, four churches, 22 stores, and two mills. It was incorporated as a town in 1904.[2]

During the Second World War, two military bases were opened near the town: A Canadian Army training base known as "Camp Utopia" and a RCAF/RAF Air Station at Pennfield Ridge. By the late 1950s, both bases were closed; Camp Utopia relocated to Camp Gagetown, later CFB Gagetown, and the airfield at Pennfield Ridge served as the first commercial airport for the city of Saint John. From 1983 to 1985, Adex Mining Inc. operated a tungsten/molybdenum mine 40 km north of the town, at Mount Pleasant. Primary employers are aquaculture and a J. D. Irving lumber mill, Lake Utopia Paper.

St. George Power runs a hydroelectric generating station on the Magaguadavic River. It has an installed capacity of 15 MW.[3] It is a run of the river plant, meaning there is no water storage in reservoirs as there is at the Mactaquac Dam.

On 1 January 2023, St. George amalgamated with the village of Blacks Harbour and all or part of five local service districts to form the incorporated rural community of Eastern Charlotte.[4][5] The community's name remains in official use.[6]

  1. ^ a b "Census Profile of St. George, Town (TV)". Statistics Canada. 6 December 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  2. ^ "Provincial Archives of New Brunswick". archives.gnb.ca. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  3. ^ "St. George Hydro Facility". Bullfrog Power. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  4. ^ "Local Governments Establishment Regulation – Local Governance Act". Government of New Brunswick. 12 October 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  5. ^ "RSC 10 Southwest Regional Service Commission". Government of New Brunswick. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  6. ^ "Proposed entity names reflect strong ties to nature and history" (Press release). Irishtown, New Brunswick: Government of New Brunswick. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2023.