John Baker (Baker Brook)
Encyclopedia
John Baker is the namesake of the towns of Baker Lake
(Lac Baker) and Baker Brook, New Brunswick
, Canada
, just west of Edmundston
. He was a successful sawmill and gristmill businessman who became a well-known activist in Canada during the 19th century and was nicknamed "the Washington
of the Republic of Madawaska
."
Baker was instrumental in the Aroostook War
, a boundary dispute that established the international border between New Brunswick
and the state of Maine
, with the Webster-Ashburton Treaty
. His name is indissolubly interwoven with the boundary controversy. He had homes on both sides of the disputed territory, defied the officers of New Brunswick in many ways and was twice arrested and imprisoned in the Fredericton jail, where a statue and plaque today recognize his imprisonments and his contributions to the boundary settlement. The last time that he was incarcerated was when he was indicted, tried and sentenced for sedition and conspiracy against King George IV
on May 8, 1828.
Baker operated a gristmill and a sawmill on the north bank of the Saint John River, and was the leading American in the disputed territory. He was dissatisfied with the official borders, and in 1827 declared his village to be capital of the "American Republic of Madawaska
". Though he was American by birth and considered himself as such throughout his life, Baker ultimately settled in Canada after his imprisonment by the Crown and died at his home on Chaleur Bay
in 1868.
Lac-Baker, New Brunswick
Lac Baker is a Canadian lake with an area of 6 km² located in northwestern New Brunswick on the border with Quebec.The lake drains to the south through Baker Brook into the Saint John River at the community of Baker Brook....
(Lac Baker) and Baker Brook, New Brunswick
Baker Brook, New Brunswick
Baker Brook is a Canadian village in Madawaska County, New Brunswick.It is located on the Saint John River 20 kilometres west of Edmundston.The village takes its name from 19th-century sawmill businessman John Baker....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, just west of Edmundston
Edmundston, New Brunswick
Edmundston is a Canadian city in Madawaska County, New Brunswick.-History:During the early colonial period, the area was an important meeting place and hunting/fishing spot of the Maliseet nation. A considerable sized village was located there around the turn of the 19th century...
. He was a successful sawmill and gristmill businessman who became a well-known activist in Canada during the 19th century and was nicknamed "the Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
of the Republic of Madawaska
Republic of Madawaska
The Republic of Madawaska was a small, unrecognized state in the northwest corner of Madawaska County, New Brunswick and adjacent areas of Aroostook County in the American state of Maine and of Quebec. The word "Madawaska" comes from the Mi'kmaq words madawas and kak...
."
Baker was instrumental in the Aroostook War
Aroostook War
The Aroostook War was an undeclared nonviolent confrontation in 1838/1839 between the United States and Great Britain over the international boundary between British North America and Maine. The compromise resolution win a mutually accepted border between the state of Maine and the provinces of...
, a boundary dispute that established the international border between New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
and the state of Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, with the Webster-Ashburton Treaty
Webster-Ashburton Treaty
The Webster–Ashburton Treaty, signed August 9, 1842, was a treaty resolving several border issues between the United States and the British North American colonies...
. His name is indissolubly interwoven with the boundary controversy. He had homes on both sides of the disputed territory, defied the officers of New Brunswick in many ways and was twice arrested and imprisoned in the Fredericton jail, where a statue and plaque today recognize his imprisonments and his contributions to the boundary settlement. The last time that he was incarcerated was when he was indicted, tried and sentenced for sedition and conspiracy against King George IV
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
on May 8, 1828.
Baker operated a gristmill and a sawmill on the north bank of the Saint John River, and was the leading American in the disputed territory. He was dissatisfied with the official borders, and in 1827 declared his village to be capital of the "American Republic of Madawaska
Republic of Madawaska
The Republic of Madawaska was a small, unrecognized state in the northwest corner of Madawaska County, New Brunswick and adjacent areas of Aroostook County in the American state of Maine and of Quebec. The word "Madawaska" comes from the Mi'kmaq words madawas and kak...
". Though he was American by birth and considered himself as such throughout his life, Baker ultimately settled in Canada after his imprisonment by the Crown and died at his home on Chaleur Bay
Chaleur Bay
frame| Satellite image of Chaleur Bay . Chaleur Bay is the large bay opening to the east;the [[Gaspé Peninsula]] appears to the north and the [[Gulf of St...
in 1868.