Plaster Rock, New Brunswick

Plaster Rock is a former village in Victoria County, New Brunswick. It is now part of the village of Tobique Valley.

Plaster Rock
Plaster Rock is located in New Brunswick
Plaster Rock
Plaster Rock
Location within New Brunswick.
Coordinates: 46°53′N 67°23′W
CountryCanada
ProvinceNew Brunswick
CountyVictoria
ParishGordon
MunicipalityTobique Valley
Founded1881
Area
[1]
 • Land3.01 km2 (1.16 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[1]
 • Total1,002
 • Density332.9/km2 (862/sq mi)
 • Change
2016–21
Decrease 2.1%
 • Dwellings
515
Time zoneUTC-4 (AST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-3 (ADT)
Postal code(s)
E7G
Area code506
Websitewww.plasterrockvillage.com

History
See also: History of New Brunswick and List of historic places in Victoria County, New Brunswick

Plaster Rock’s first settlers were Hezekiah Day and his two brothers, who arrived in 1881. Plaster Rock was incorporated as the Village of Plaster Rock on November 9, 1966. Hezekiah Day gave Plaster Rock its name based on the hill on the other side of the Tobique River – the rock is made up of gypsum, or plaster.

The second settlers, Mr. & Mrs. Henry Ridgewell, arrived in 1882. The third settler was a gentleman named David Roulston and his family.[2]

Primarily English, the town is historically a logging and lumbering community. Known as the Gateway to Mount Carleton Provincial Park, the community is the source of business, commerce, banking, grocery shopping, and religious and sport gatherings for the surrounding hamlets and homes of the Tobique River region. The Tobique River, which has its source Nictau Lake at Mt. Carleton Provincial Park, flows through the tiny communities of Nictau, Riley Brook, Oxbow, Plaster Rock, Arthurette, Red Rapids, and empties into the Saint John River above Perth-Andover.

The Tobique First Nations Reserve is located where the Tobique and Saint John Rivers come together. The town has 6 churches, namely a Catholic Church, an Anglican Church, a Free-will Baptist Church, a United Baptist Church, a United Church of Canada, and a Pentecostal Church. The average congregation is 20-45 members of the first 5 churches, with the Pentecost church being an exception with a congregation of approximately 400 members, who are in part from the village of Plaster Rock, but mostly from the surrounding region of Victoria County. The Pentecostal Church also has its own private school, the only other school in the village aside from the village`s Public Junior and High Schools.

The World Pond Hockey Championship has been held every year in Plaster Rock since 2002

Plaster Rock is home of the World Pond Hockey Championships, which take place annually in February on Roulston Lake, featuring 120 teams from around the world. In 2016 Wayne Gretzky attended the event and Budweiser introduced its 20-metre goal-light as it began its trek across Canada and eventually to the North Pole.[3][4]

In June, Fiddlers on The Tobique is a large event attracting tourists and visitors from all over the world as they put approximately 1300 canoes into the waters and float accompanied by fiddlers and their Maritime music.

Plaster Rock gets a rebroadcasting signal of CIKX-FM, and is heard at the frequency of 88.3 MHz.

On 1 January 2023, Plaster Rock annexed all or part of three local service districts to form the new village of Tobique Valley.[5][6] The community's name remains in official use.[7]

January 2014 Derailment of HAZMAT Train

On January 7, 2014, 17 cars of a 122-car train derailed and caused a huge fireball near Plaster Rock. The petroleum products originated in Western Canada and were destined for the Irving Oil Refinery in Saint John, New Brunswick,[8] because in the wake of the Lac Megantic derailment the MM&A line through Lac Megantic can no longer be used to transport dangerous goods. As a result, Irving Oil uses the CN line from Montreal through Quebec City that crosses over the bridge to the South shore through Rimouski and Matane and then through Plaster Rock to Saint John. Nobody was injured during the blaze but about 150 people were evacuated.[9]

Demographics
Historical Census Data - Plaster Rock, New Brunswick
YearPop.±%
2006 1,150—    
2011 1,135−1.3%
2016 1,023−9.9%
2021 1,002−2.1%
Source: [10][11][1]

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Plaster Rock had a population of 1,002 living in 476 of its 515 total private dwellings, a change of -2.1% from its 2016 population of 1,023. With a land area of 3.01 km2 (1.16 sq mi), it had a population density of 332.9/km2 (862.2/sq mi) in 2021.[1]

See also

References
  1. "Census Profile of Plaster Rock, Village (VL)". Statistics Canada. 6 December 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  2. "History of Plaster Rock". plasterrockvillage.com. Retrieved 2016-10-31.
  3. Krashinsky, Susan (2 February 2016). "Labatt doubles down as Canadians embrace Bud Red Light program". The Globe and Mail. The Globe and Mail Inc. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  4. "Wayne Gretzky and Budweiser Light Up The World Pond Hockey Championships". CNW Group Ltd. CNW. 26 February 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  5. "Local Governments Establishment Regulation – Local Governance Act". Government of New Brunswick. 12 October 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  6. "RSC 12 - Western Valley Regional Service Commission". Government of New Brunswick. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  7. "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.
  8. G+M: "New Brunswick train derailment fire renews questions of oil-by-rail’s dangers" 8 Jan 2014
  9. G+M: "Train carrying oil and propane still burning after derailment in New Brunswick" January 8, 2014
  10. 2011 Statistics Canada Census Profile: Plaster Rock, New Brunswick
  11. "Census Profile, 2016 Census Plaster Rock, Village [Census subdivision], New Brunswick". Statistics Canada. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
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