Interesting Facts of Plaster Rock's History
- Plaster Rock was incorporated as the Village of Plaster Rock on November 9, 1966. The first Mayor of Plaster Rock was Don Gerrish followed by Maurice Dionne, Laura R. Reynolds, Graham Eagles, Gary Broad and presently, Robin DeMerchant.
- On March 7, 1874 records show that Messro Brimmer had been peddling liquor on the Tobique River and supplying jug taverns. During that winter, they were convicted for selling, contrary to the law, and find $20 and cost.
- In 1904 there was telephone communication from Plaster Rock to Nictau.
- Wooden sidewalks were built in 1913 and concrete sidewalks took their place on Main Street in 1955.
- In 1918, Frasers bought the Arbuckle Mill site and built a shingle mill. This site had previously been used to crush the plaster hauled from town. It has been said that as many as 50 men worked there at one time.
- Around 1921, the New Brunswick government built a system of look-out towers to help prevent the spread of forest fires. One was built on Mount Carleton, Tower Hill and another on Blue Bell Mountain. By 1970 all the towers had been closed.
- The Cenotaph that was unveiled on September 28, 1928 was bought by subscription and a donation of $1,000 from the county council. The total cost was $1,946.50. In 1947, the names of those who died in World War II were engraved.
- The 1936 graduating class in the Superior School consisted of 15 pupils. Some of the graduates were Judge Tomlinson and Ralph Lloyd.
- The Plaster Rock arena, Tobique Valley Centennial Arena, opened in 1967.
- In the spring of 1969, the Tobique River carried its last logs to the mill - an annual event that had continued each spring for 70 consecutive years.
- In 1974, a new fire hall and office were purchased.
- A new Village Garage was constructed in 1998.
- The old Village Garage was demolished and a new Fire Hall was constructed on that site in 1999.
- The Plaster Rock Tourist Park was officially opened in 1982.
- Plaster Rockers were the only ones in a large area of the province that had electricity between 1929 and 1939 because Frasers owned a private plant. John Bernier was the company electrician until 1928, when a diesel powered generator was installed. In 1929, Mr. Theo Haddad was hired to take charge of this new system. This was only a six hour a day service from 6am to 12pm. In 1940, Mr. Fraser sold the power system to the New Brunswick Power Commission which improved the system to a 24 hour service.
- Dr. Joe Coffin had one of the first automobiles in Plaster Rock. Also, during his 50 years of practice, it is believed he delivered approximately 5,000 babies.
- The railway, built by John Stewart, was not sold to the C.P. Railway as commonly believed, but was leased for 99 years.
- Early settlers had regular "Bees" to help a friend or neighbor put up a house, barn, or do a farm job like cleaning an area of land.
- The most popular meeting places in the early years were at hotels, where they discussed religion, politics or other social problems.
- We live among the oldest mountains in our country, covering a good portion of the whole province with its highest peak at Mount Carleton.
- The Olden Days were not always "good old days" and could be viewed as the bad old days to the wife when an unshined spittoon was a sign of a careless housekeeper.
- In some banks, loans were guaranteed on a few conditions, among them was the stipulation that the borrowers appear to pick up the money in person and that he be shaven and have short hair.
- The Catholic and Anglican Clergy live in rectories, the Baptist Clergy live in parsonages, and the United Church ministers live in manses.
- Mr. B.T. Marsten came to Plaster Rock to open a hardware store. He and Arthur Ridgewell operated an undertaking business in Marsten's basement while he sold coffins overhead in the Ridgewell building. Mr. Marsten also amalgamated an insurance business with Jeff King. His hardware store still stands on Main Street and belongs to the Gerrishs.
- Plaster Rock once had the honor of sending one of its citizens, Vincent Shields, to the National League. He played baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Philadelphia Phillies.
- One of Plaster Rock's most popular events is the annual Fall Fair sponsored by the Lion's Club. It features a parade, mid-way, concession booths, skill events, log rolling and power saw events. The set date is the weekend following Labour Day.
- Finally, the Tobique Homecoming is held every 4 years.
