Gagetown

Gagetown, NB, incorporated as a village in 1966, population 698 (2011c), 719 (2006c). The Village of Gagetown is situated on Gagetown Creek, adjacent to the SAINT JOHN RIVER and opposite the mouth of the Jemseg River. English settlement began soon after Robert MONCKTON's expedition cleared the French from the lower Saint John Valley in 1758. By the time the LOYALISTS arrived in 1783, Grimross, as it was then known, had a population of some 200. It was laid out in grid pattern as a possible site for the provincial capital, but Governor Carleton chose St Anne's [Fredericton] and Gagetown became the shire town of Queens County.

During the 19th century it was the most important centre between Fredericton and SAINT JOHN and a prosperous farming and lumbering community. The establishment of CFB GAGETOWN after the Second World War stripped the village of its hinterland, and the abolition of county government in the 1960s deprived it of its importance as the shire town. Today the village is undergoing a growth in tourism in addition to its apple industry. It is also a popular destination for boaters.