St. Andrews, New Brunswick - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

This article is about the town. For the parish, consult St. Andrews Parish, New Brunswick.

St. Andrews (2006 population: 1,798) is a Canadian

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...

town in Charlotte County

Charlotte County, New Brunswick

Charlotte County is located in the southwestern portion of New Brunswick, Canada.In most of the county, fishing and aquaculture dominate the local economy, although the town of St. Andrews is a tourist mecca and St...

, 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...

.

It is sometimes referred to in tourism marketing by its unofficial nickname "St. Andrews-by-the-sea".

Geography

St. Andrews is located at the southern tip of a triangular-shaped peninsula (15 km on the west side, 12 km on the east side) extending into Passamaquoddy Bay

Passamaquoddy Bay

Passamaquoddy Bay is an inlet of the Bay of Fundy, between the U.S. state of Maine and the Canadian province of New Brunswick, at the mouth of the St. Croix River. Most of the bay lies within Canada, with its western shore bounded by Washington County, Maine. The southernmost point is formed by...

at the western edge of Charlotte County

Charlotte County, New Brunswick

. It is the shire town of the county.

The town's street grid is oriented toward the waterfront, which faces St. Andrews Harbour and the Western Channel, which is formed by Navy Island. St. Andrews Harbour is situated at the mouth of the St. Croix River

St. Croix River (Maine-New Brunswick)

The St. Croix River is a river in northeastern North America, in length, that forms part of the Canada – United States border between Maine and New Brunswick . The river rises in the Chiputneticook Lakes and flows south and southeast, between Calais and St. Stephen...

and the town sits on the river's east bank at its discharge point into the bay.

The town is directly opposite the community of Robbinston

Robbinston, Maine

Robbinston is a town in Washington County, Maine, United States. The population was 525 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water....

, 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...

, 2 kilometres to the west across the river mouth.

In addition to Navy Island, Minister's Island

Minister's Island

Ministers Island is an historic Canadian island in New Brunswick's Passamaquoddy Bay near the town of St. Andrews.The island stands several hundred metres offshore immediately northeast of the town and is a geographical novelty in that it is accessible at low tide by a wide gravel bar suitable for...

is another island in Passamaquoddy Bay that is adjacent to the town on its eastern boundary.

Despite its proximity to the International Boundary with the United States, the nearest border crossings are 30 km away at St. Stephen

St. Stephen, New Brunswick

St. Stephen is a Canadian town in Charlotte County, New Brunswick, situated on the east bank of the St. Croix River at .-Climate:...

or via a ferry

Ferry

A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...

service at Deer Island

Deer Island, New Brunswick

Deer Island is a Canadian island located in the Bay of Fundy at the entrance to Passamaquoddy Bay.Elizabeth Rolfe died here in 1635. She was born in 1620 to English colonist John Rolfe and his third wife Jane Pierce. Her husband was John Milner of Nansemond, Virginia. At 45 km², the island is the...

History

St. Andrews was founded in 1783 by United Empire Loyalists

United Empire Loyalists

The name United Empire Loyalists is an honorific given after the fact to those American Loyalists who resettled in British North America and other British Colonies as an act of fealty to King George III after the British defeat in the American Revolutionary War and prior to the Treaty of Paris...

and named in honour of St Andrews

St Andrews

St Andrews is a university town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle.St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. The town is well preserved, with many original buildings still in place (some of which were floated to the town on barges from Castine, Maine

Castine, Maine

Castine is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States and was once the capital of Acadia . The population was 1,343 at the 2000 census. Castine is the home of Maine Maritime Academy, a four-year institution that graduates officers and engineers for the United States Merchant Marine and marine...

at the end of the Revolutionary War). There are many layers of history visible starting from the late 18th century, including the town's well-known formal grid street layout and many historic buildings. Many of the commercial buildings on Water Street date from the 19th century. Between 1820 and 1860, the port of St. Andrews was used extensively during the Irish Migration

Irish diaspora

thumb|Night Train with Reaper by London Irish artist [[Brian Whelan]] from the book Myth of Return, 2007The Irish diaspora consists of Irish emigrants and their descendants in countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, Mexico, South Africa,...

. The Irish were first quarantined at Hospital Island, situated a few kilometers in Passamaquoddy Bay. By the 1851 Census, over 50% of the town were born in Ireland. The Algonquin

The Algonquin

The Fairmont Algonquin is a coastal resort hotel in the Tudor style, located in Canada's first seaside resort town, St. Andrews, New Brunswick. It was built in 1889 by the St...

, a resort situated on a hill overlooking the town, was built in 1889, making St. Andrews Canada's first seaside resort community. The hotel burned down in 1914 and was rebuilt one year later.

Attractions

Important attractions include The Fairmont Algonquin Hotel, Kingsbrae Horticultural Garden, The Ross Memorial Museum, the St. Andrews Biological Station, the Huntsman Marine Aquarium, The Sheriff Andrews' House, Minister's Island

Minister's Island

(the summer home of Cornelius Van Horne), whale watching, fine art and craft galleries, many shops, restaurants and small inns and the charming seaside setting.

St. Andrews is the birthplace of Thomas Storrow Brown

Thomas Storrow Brown

Thomas Storrow Brown was a journalist, writer, orator, and revolutionary in Lower Canada .- Biography :...

, a businessman, journalist, and an officer of the 1837 Rebellion and Victorian artist Edward Mitchell Bannister

Edward Mitchell Bannister

-Notes:...

. The town was, and continues to be a home to noted summer citizens, including steel magnate Sir James Dunn, Fathers of Confederation Samuel Leonard Tilley

Samuel Leonard Tilley

Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley, PC, KCMG was a Canadian politician and one of the Fathers of Confederation. Tilley was descended from United Empire Loyalists on both sides of his family...

and Charles Tupper

Charles Tupper

Sir Charles Tupper, 1st Baronet, GCMG, CB, PC was a Canadian father of Confederation: as the Premier of Nova Scotia from 1864 to 1867, he led Nova Scotia into Confederation. He later went on to serve as the sixth Prime Minister of Canada, sworn in to office on May 1, 1896, seven days after...

, and William Cornelius Van Horne

William Cornelius Van Horne

Sir William Cornelius Van Horne, KCMG was a pioneering Canadian railway executive.-Life and career:Born in 1843 in rural Illinois, he moved with his family to Joliet, Illinois when he was eight years old...

, General Manager and later, President of the Canadian Pacific Railway

Canadian Pacific Railway

The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...

Minister's Island

is named after a loyalist Anglican priest, Rev. Samuel Andrews, who settled the island in 1786. But it is most famous as the summer home of Sir William Van Horne, builder of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The island is about a five-minute drive from downtown St. Andrews. At low tide you can walk, bike or drive across Bar Road (along the ocean floor) to the island, and during high tide a boat will ferry you the short distance to the gate where guides will take you to key locations by golf cart or van. There are guided tours available May through October, which allow you to see the stone house where Rev. Andrews and his family lived, and also Covenhoven (the summer cottage of Sir William Cornelius Van Horne), one of the largest livestock barns in North America, and the old windmill that used to power the island. Hikers, photographers, birdwatchers and others are free to explore the many trails on the Island.

Huntsman Aquarium and Science Centre

The aquarium has various exhibits, including a touch pool with sea urchins, seastars, and sea anemones. There is also a pair of harbour seals, Loki and Snorkel. The Huntsman Marine Science Centre

Huntsman Marine Science Centre

The Huntsman Marine Science Centre is located on Lower Campus Road in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada...

is also a part of the aquarium and hosts a number of educational courses, from grade school up to university level courses. St. Andrews Biological Station

St. Andrews Biological Station

St. Andrews Biological Station is located on Brandy Cove Road in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada. Along with the Huntsman Marine Science Centre, the Atlantic Salmon Federation, and New Brunswick Community College/St. Andrew's, SABS is a part of a network of fisheries research and educational...

adjoins the center.

Charlotte County Courthouse and Gaol

St. Andrews is the shire town of Charlotte County and hosts the Charlotte County Courthouse, built in 1840 and designed by architect Thomas Berry. The court house is a National Historic Site and one of the longest operating courthouses in Canada, as it continues to be used for the Court of Queen's Bench of New Brunswick

Court of Queen's Bench of New Brunswick

The Court of Queen's Bench of New Brunswick is the superior court of the Canadian province of New Brunswick.- Structure :...

. It is a beautiful example of Gothic Revival architecture and is available for touring through the Charlotte County Gaol

Charlotte County Gaol

-The First Charlotte County Gaol:The first prison in Charlotte County, New Brunswick was located in St. Andrews, New Brunswick on Water Street near where the current town hall is today. Built in 1786, just three years after the town was settled, it was a wooden building that consisted of four cells...

, situated next to the courthouse. The Gaol was built of large blocks of local granite in 1832 and continued to be used as such until 1979, despite its archaic construction. It currently is home to the Charlotte County Archives

Charlotte County Archives

The Charlotte County Archives collection reflects the social, political and economic history of Charlotte County, New Brunswick. Collections date back to the 18th century, and include thousands of original documents reflecting various individuals, groups, and businesses who have contributed to the...

, which boasts a large collection of historical papers, photographs, microfilms of newspapers and selected collections, and research materials for local historians and genealogists alike. The Gaol is purportedly haunted by the ghost of an innocent man hanged for murder in 1879, and was the site of one of Canada's last hangings in 1942.

Ross Memorial Museum

Henry Phipps and Sarah Juliette Ross were world travellers and eclectic collectors. The lives of this American couple, and the heritage of St.Andrews, were changed because of a picnic on Chamcook Mountain in 1902 when they fell in love with the area.
The Rosses purchased the 1824 house of the Honourable Harris Hatch, a Loyalist, and donated it and their collection to the town. The house itself boasts a lovely neoclassical interior with grand, curbing staircase and elaborate plaster moldings.
Each room reflects the Rosses' interests: fine furniture made by 19th century New Brunswick cabinetmakers, exceptional oriental carpets and objets d'art from their travels. You can wander at leisure, zip through in 20 minutes or take a tour with one of our guides to learn more about the exciting lives of this fascinating couple.
The Ross Memorial Museum is located at the corner of King and Montague streets in the centre of the St.Andrews National Historic District and is open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 4:30pm, June to Canadian Thanksgiving and off-season by chance or appointment.

Sheriff Andrews House

The Sheriff Andrews House was built by Elisha Andrews, Sheriff of Charlotte County (from 1805, until his death in 1820.) The Andrews Family was a loyalist family that moved to St. Andrews shortly after the American Revolution. The house is open daily for tours by costumed tour guide, who take visitors through the house, showing what life would have been like in the 1800's. Stop in Monday-Friday between 2-3:30 pm and get treated to a delicious desert, as well as a tour before or after. Summer Hours: (Mon-Sat 8:30-4:30, Closed Sundays.)
Call 529-5080 to inquire about our children's programs!

Atlantic Salmon Interpretive Centre

The Atlantic Salmon Interpretive Centre offers visitors the chance to meet wild Atlantic salmon face-to-face through an underground viewing chamber. Plus it has up-to-date displays on the research being carried out on this charismatic species, on its biology, and on the rich cultural heritage surrounding it. There are easy walking trails along the beautiful Chamcook Stream, and knowledgeable guides to enrich the entire experience. The Centre is also available for meetings, special events, and weddings. http://salarstream.ca/

St. Andrews Blockhouse

The blockhouse was built as a coastal defense structure in the War of 1812 between the United States and the British Empire, but never saw action. Twelve similar structures were built, and only the St. Andrews blockhouse still stands. It was repaired in the 1990s following a fire. Guided tours are conducted during tourist season.

Kingsbrae Garden

Kingsbrae Garden has over 50,000 different plants on display. There are edible gardens, a cedar maze, an ornamental grass garden, rose garden, gravel garden, a virgin Acadian forest trail, streams, a genuine Dutch windmill (1/3 scale), and even a garden called the "Scents and Sensitivity Garden"; built with advice from the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, and designed for the visually impaired, with all plants chosen because they have an interesting smell or texture, and all with names for the plants labelled in English, Latin, and Braille. There are alpacas, pygmy goats, peacocks, ducks, sculptures and a Children's Fantasy Garden where there are free children's activities every day in July and August. Kingsbrae Horticultural Garden is located just a few blocks up the hill from the St Andrews Water Street business district and wharf; also just steps from the historic Fairmont Algonquin hotel. In April 2006 Kingsbrae announced it would be the first public garden in Canada to display the rare Australian Wollemi Pine

Wollemi Pine

Wollemia is a genus of coniferous tree in the family Araucariaceae. Wollemia was only known through fossil records until the Australian species Wollemia nobilis was discovered in 1994 in a temperate rainforest wilderness area of the Wollemi National Park in New South Wales, in a remote series of...

, discovered in 1994 though thought to have been extinct for two million years (CanWest News Service). http://www.kingsbraegarden.com/ very nice!

Sunbury Shores Arts & Nature Centre

Sunbury Shores Arts and Nature Centre is a not-for-profit, membership-based organization situated on the shores of Passamaquoddy Bay in St. Andrews. Since being established in 1964, the Centre has played a role in the development of a strong arts community in St. Andrews through the execution of a unique mandate - to explore the connections between art and nature. The Centre contains artists studios, printmaking shop, pottery studio, exhibition gallery, reference library and administrative offices and is open year round. The Arts & Nature Centre also owns and maintains Two Meadows Nature Trail, a self guided hiking trail in a nearby wilderness area.

Farmers' Market

On every Thursday morning during the summer months, there is a local Farmers' Market in the town square. Indian food, Middle Eastern food, Mexican food, fresh organic produce and meat, plants, herbal soap, teddy bears, crepes filled with all kinds of fruit and melted chocolate, and homemade chocolate fudge are amongst the items for sale. There is usually music, played on guitar by one of the local highschoolers, or fiddle music (there are several different violinists who come on different days), or hammered dulcimer played by Ruth Dunfield, who also plays guitar and lives in St. Andrews.

Fine art & craft galleries

St Andrews features the studios and galleries of many fine artists and craftspeople. Visitors will find original works in landscape and floral painting, sculptor, carving, textile art, fine pottery, wearable art, photography, jewelry and much more.

Murals

St Andrews features many outdoor murals which can be viewed year round. The St. Andrews Water Tower Mural measures 30' x 150' and includes images of Market Wharf and Kingsbrae Garden. The Drug Store Mural measures 960 square feet (89.2 m²) and is located on the side of Cockburn's Drugstore. It features images of Water Street and Kingsbrae Garden. The Hardware Store Mural is located on the side of St. Andrews Hardware. It is a 1200 square feet (111.5 m²) mural featuring an image of St. Andrews as it appeared in 1907.

Whale watching

The port of St. Andrews is home to several Whale watching

Whale watching

Whale watching is the practice of observing whales and other cetaceans in their natural habitat. Whales are watched most commonly for recreation but the activity can also serve scientific or educational purposes. A 2009 study, prepared for IFAW, estimated that 13 million people went whale watching...

companies that operate on a seasonal basis which begins during the first of May through the first of October. The offices of most of these companies are located at the head of the wharf. Since whales are uncommon in Passamaquoddy Bay, tours tend to stretch past the Fundy Islands

Fundy Islands

The Fundy Islands, also known as the Fundy Isles, is a term given to a group of Canadian islands in the Bay of Fundy along the southwestern coast of New Brunswick, Canada, in the provincial county of Charlotte. There are over 25 islands within this group. Some of the larger islands are inhabited...

and into the Bay of Fundy

Bay of Fundy

The Bay of Fundy is a bay on the Atlantic coast of North America, on the northeast end of the Gulf of Maine between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine...

. Common sightings by St. Andrews tour companies tend to be the Northern Humpback Whale

Humpback Whale

The humpback whale is a species of baleen whale. One of the larger rorqual species, adults range in length from and weigh approximately . The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. It is an acrobatic animal, often breaching and slapping the...

, Fin Whale

Fin Whale

The fin whale , also called the finback whale, razorback, or common rorqual, is a marine mammal belonging to the suborder of baleen whales. It is the second longest whale and the sixth largest living animal after the blue whale, bowhead whale, and right whales, growing to nearly 27 metres long...

and Minke Whale

Minke Whale

Minke whale , or lesser rorqual, is a name given to two species of marine mammal belonging to a clade within the suborder of baleen whales. The minke whale was given its official designation by Lacepède in 1804, who described a dwarf form of Balænoptera acuto-rostrata...

, along with sightings of other marine life such as the common seal

Harbor Seal

The harbor seal , also known as the common seal, is a true seal found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere...

Media

A local community channel, CHCT

CHCT-TV

CHCT-TV is a Canadian television station, broadcasting in St. Andrews, New Brunswick and serving the Charlotte County area. The slogan of the station is "Where Charlotte County is on TV."-History:...

, serves the St. Andrews and Charlotte County area. The station launched in 1993 on cable television

Cable television

Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...

, and began broadcasting over the air in 2006.

External links

Visit St. Andrews By-the-Sea, Official St. Andrews Tourism Website
Town of St. Andrews Website
Atlantic Salmon Interpretive Centre
Minister's Island, The Official Site
Minister's Island: Sir William Van Horne's Summer Home in St. Andrews
Huntsman Marine Science Centre
The Ross Memorial Museum
The Sheriff Andrews House
The St. Andrews Blockhouse
Kingsbrae Garden
Moving To Tropical Canada An article about the experience of St. Andrews by Mary Colburn-Green

Geography

History

Attractions

Minister's Island

Huntsman Aquarium and Science Centre

Charlotte County Courthouse and Gaol

Ross Memorial Museum

Sheriff Andrews House

Atlantic Salmon Interpretive Centre

St. Andrews Blockhouse

Kingsbrae Garden

Sunbury Shores Arts & Nature Centre

Farmers' Market

Fine art & craft galleries

Murals

Whale watching

Media

External links

Further reading