How does a Village start? What winds of change
bring people together to live side by side, to build together and lay the
foundations of a community? So many questions and so few answers? In tracing
the origins of "MY TOWN" we are both fortunate and unfortunate _ unfortunate
because, since what we now call Perth was a part of the land set aside
in 1792 as the Tobique Indian Reserve and therefore, anyone settling here
could be called a squatter; fortunate because in 1854 this land was "surrendered"
by the Indians and the Federal Department of Indian Affairs subdivided
this surrendered land (of 1854) and issued grants. One of the earliest know settlements along the river was called Tobique _ now know as the village of Andover _ when first land was occupied by two brothers, James and Robert Murphy. The first houses were log and had to have wooden shutters as a protection against the intrusion of bears and wolves. Children were not allowed to play outside alone, and the mothers would fasten the children in when they went for water.
April 13, 1844, Victoria County is established out of Carleton County, with Colebrooke (Grand Falls) as the shire town.
April 13, 1876, The shire town for Victoria County is changed from Colebrooke to Andover.
In 1883 Andover was erected into a separate Parish, and the surrounding county was called Tobique.
Click on a picture to enlarge it.
Perth and Andover seen from the Perth Terrace many years ago in better times..
CULTURAL
Presently named "Fort Road" Perth-Andover.This photograph was taken on Ocrober 11 1899 from the corner of West Riverside Road and the Fort Road, where Carl's Canteen is presently located looking west towards Fort Fairfield. Recognizable is the "Ranger Homestead" and the homestead west.
There must have been a gathering of some importance, ever person is dressed immaculately and you can notice the mud puddles in the street after a rainstorm
.
Perth-Andover is also famous for its exquisite
cuisine and originality of service at York's Restaurant.
The Historical Museum of the village was moved to this old Methodist Church, built in 1837. The old building was used as a hall, also as a school for a time. For a long time it was the fashionable church in the community. It is surrounded by a well-kept Cemetery decorated with a fountain, made possible by funds left by a former member.
The
Victoria County Courthouse is a 1876 Second Empire style building which has served as a jail and as the site of public hangings. In 1909 Green the Peddler was murdered by two Italians, who later were proved guilty and hanged at the Court House. The building is still a functioning courthouse for Victoria County and is now a "Designated Historic Site".
Old Victoria County Registry Office Perth-Andover. The registry office in Perth-Andover was constructed in 1902 from sandstone quarried at Red Rapids. For nearly a century, this building housed the county registry office and currently serves as the town office of Perth-Andover. It was also home to other provincial offices and housed the area's first bank, the Peoples Bank of Halifax, from 1902 to 1905 and is now a "Designated Historic Site".
This is an invaluable photograph of the Andover Grammar School 1896 taken approximately 1904, is the general consciences. This Photograph was kindly sent to me by S. G. Norman, B.C. He wife Sue has relatives in this photograph who are not identify. This School was previously the "Old Pine Tree, Old Baptist Church and Rectory" and finally the Andover Grammar School. We are asking from all who visit and view my web presentation to help identify any of the persons or relatives of Sue in this photograph. Please E-mail me if you have any information on the identities of these persons.
This photograph of the Mill Pond at River de Chute taken in 1903 comes from the Canoe Trip: Grand Falls to Fredericton. River de Chute was once a lumber mill community located 10 miles below Andover on the west side of the St. John River. The Trans Canada Highway takes one by today with out a notice. The construction of the Beechwood Electric Power Dam has taken away from the past.
This is a 1915 photograph of the Aroostock Railway Station located in Aroostock Junction, N.B. Aroostock railway station was the central hub of the C.P.R. Railway for the northwest section of New Brunswick covering not only northern New Brunswick but, Fort Fairfield, and the northern section of Maine U.S.A.
This is a photograph of Saint Albans Anglican Church located in Medford just north of Tilley, New Brunswick. This Church was built with donations from a Lady from England, who paid to have the lumbar brought up the Saint John River; no saw mills were available near the location in the early Nineteen Hundreds. All my Ancestors from the Morrell side of my family are interned within the adjourning cemetery.
This is a photograph of James Murphy 1785-1856 and Martha Couillard 1786-1857 This is a picture of two of the first settlers to Andover.
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