Chatham (New Brunswick)
| Chatham | |||
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| Nickname : Irish Capital of Canada | |||
 Centennial (Miramichi) Bridge |
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| Location in New Brunswick | |||
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| State : |
 Canada
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| Province : | New Brunswick | ||
| County: | Northumberland County | ||
| Coordinates : | 47 ° 2 ′ N , 65 ° 26 ′ W | ||
| Time zone : | Atlantic Time ( UTC − 4 ) | ||
| Postal code : | E1N | ||
| Area code : | +1 506 | ||
| Foundation : | 1896 (town charter) | ||
| Website : | www.miramichi.ca | ||
Chatham is a district of the city of Miramichi in northeast New Brunswick in Canada . Before the municipal merger, Chatham was a town with legal capacity and had a population of around 6,000. On January 1, 1995, Chatham was united with Newcastle , Douglastown , Logieville , Nelson and some smaller parishes to form the "City of Miramichi" despite the resistance of large parts of the population . The Centenial Bridge over the Miramichi River connects Chatham with Douglastown. The bridge built in 1967 replaces the ferry traffic that had been carried out until then during ice-free times .
geography
Chatham is located in Northumberland County on the south bank of the Miramichi River, which is about 1.5 kilometers wide at this point, immediately before its extension to Miramichi Bay and about 35 kilometers before its confluence with the Gulf of St. Lawrence , which then flows into the Atlantic Ocean flows. Fredericton , the provincial capital of New Brunswick, is located around 140 kilometers to the southwest.
history
The area on the Miramichi River was inhabited hundreds of years ago by the Mi'kmaq Indians , who found good living conditions because of the abundance of salmon in the river. In 1765 the British troop transport "Pitt", which was named after William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham , was shipwrecked in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence . The city owes its name to a dinghy called "Chatham" that was washed up on the banks of the Miramichi River. It grew slowly due to immigrants who came mostly from Scotland and Ireland . Because of the location on the river and the abundance of forests in the area, mainly a fishing and forestry with an attached wood pulp industry and sawmills developed . There were also shipbuilding activities .
On August 1, 1876, the Chatham Railroad of New Brunswick was founded. The city also received economic impetus from the temporary presence of the politician Lord Beaverbrook and the shipbuilder Joseph Cunard . The town charter was granted in 1896. After the Second World War , a military flight unit was also stationed at Chatham Airport. The base was named "CFB (Canadian Forces Base) Chatham" in 1968 and also had the task of harming CF-101 voodoo interceptors, the McDonnell F-101 voodoo aircraft manufactured for Canada, and possibly enemy aircraft entering Canadian airspace do. It was under the command of NORAD . In addition, the "Golden Hawks", an acrobatic team for air shows, were stationed there. They are also known as the Snowbirds or "431 Air Demonstration Squadron" and are the aerobatic team of the Royal Canadian Air Force . Chatham's economic downturn began with the relocation of St. Thomas University (New Brunswick) to Fredericton , the abandonment of the nursing school , the shutdown of a fluidized bed power plant and the closure of the CFB base. In order to strengthen the region economically, Chatham was finally integrated into the new town of Miramichi in 1995 together with the small towns mentioned above.
Sights and festivals
The landmark of Chatham is the St. Michael's Basilica , which was built from 1903 to 1921 in the neo-Gothic style. It is also the center of the inhabitants, who are predominantly Catholic .
Chatham is known for the annual Irish Festival because of the large number of residents of Irish descent. This is why Chatham is sometimes called the “Irish Capital of Canada”.
language
The predominant language in Chatham is English and is spoken by approximately 90% of the population. About 9% speak French and 1% speak other languages.
Sons and daughters
- Frederick H. Blair (1874–1939), musician and music teacher
- James Leonard Doyle (1929-2004), Bishop of Peterborough
- Lenah Higbee (1874–1941), Superintendent of the Navy Nurse Corps
- Greg Malone (* 1956), ice hockey player and scout
- Patrick William Riordan (1841–1914), Archbishop of San Francisco
- Frank Synott (1889–1945), ice hockey player
- Joseph Edward Troy (* 1931), former bishop of Saint John
literature
- Chatham (NB) ( English, French ) In: The Canadian Encyclopedia .
- Thomas Barlow Smith: Young Lion of the Woods . gutberg.org
- Former railway company.
- New Brunswick ( English, French ) In: The Canadian Encyclopedia .
- Chatham, William Pitt, 1st Earl of . In: Encyclopædia Britannica . 11th edition. tape 6 : Châtelet - Constantine . London 1910, p. 1 (English, full text [ Wikisource ]).