Musquash Parish, New Brunswick

This article is about the geographic parish, former local service district, and census subdivision. For the community, see Musquash, New Brunswick.

Musquash is a geographic parish in Saint John County, New Brunswick, Canada.^[4]

Musquash
Parish
Location within Saint John County. map erroneously shows Saint John as part of Simonds Parish
Coordinates: 46°10′N 66°22′W / 46.17°N 66.36°W / 46.17; -66.36
Country	Canada
Province	New Brunswick
County	Saint John County
Erected	1877
Area ^[1]
• Land	233.06 km^2 (89.98 sq mi)
Population  (2021)^[1]
• Total	1,253
• Density	5.4/km^2 (14/sq mi)
• Change 2016-2021	4.9%
• Dwellings	594
Time zone	UTC-4 (AST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-3 (ADT)
Median Income*	$71,680 CDN
Median household total income, 2015 (all households)

For governance purposes, the parish is part of the incorporated rural community of Fundy Shores,^[5] which is a member of the Southwest Regional Service Commission.^[6]

Prior to the 2023 governance reform, the parish formed the local service district of the parish of Musquash,^[7] which was a member of the Fundy Regional Service Commission (FRSC).^[8]

Origin of name

The Provincial Archives of New Brunswick gives it origin as "derived from the Maliseet word for muskrat" but does not mention that word or give a source.^[9]

William F. Ganong has entries for Musquash Islands and Musquash Harbour, the former translated from the French I. aux Rats musquez, island of muskrats, the latter uncertain, both possibly related to Maliseet words.^[10]

Musquash is a synonym of muskrat, possibly borrowed from Massachusett.^[11]

History

Musquash was erected in 1877 from Lancaster Parish.^[12]

Boundaries

Musquash Parish is bounded:^[2][13][14]

• on the north by the Kings County line;
• on the east by the City of Saint John;
• on the south by the Bay of Fundy;
• on the west by the Charlotte County line.

Communities

Communities at least partly within the parish.^[13][14][15]

• Chance Harbour
• Dipper Harbour East
• Dipper Harbour West
• Five Fathom Hole
• Gooseberry Cove
• Little Lepreau
• Musquash
• Prince of Wales
• South Musquash

Bodies of water

Bodies of water^[a] at least partly within the parish.^[13][14][15]

• Little Lepreau River
• West Branch Musquash River
• Belvidere Stream
• Deer Lake Stream
• Fishing Stream
• Hanson Stream
• Menzies Stream
• Dipper Harbour Creek
• Ferguson Creek
• Goose Creek
• McLaughlin Creek
• Moose Creek
• Wetmore Creek
• West Branch Reservoir
  • Back Channel
  • The Narrows
• Bay of Fundy
  • Plumper Hole
• Maces Bay
• Chance Harbour
• Dipper Harbour
• Little Dipper Harbour
• Musquash Harbour
• Hepburn Basin
• Bonny Doone Lake
• more than twenty other officially named lakes

Islands

Islands at least partly within the parish.^[13][14][15]

• Gooseberry Island
• Musquash Island
• Stillwater Island
• Man Rock
• Musquash Ledges
• Pork Ledge

Other notable places

Parks, historic sites, and other noteworthy places at least partly within the parish.^{[13][14][15][16]}

• Dipper Harbour Back Cove Protected Natural Area
• Gooseberry Cove Protected Natural Area
• Loch Alva Protected Natural Area
• Log Falls Dam
• Musquash Estuary Protected Natural Area
• Point Lepreau
• Round Meadow Cove Protected Natural Area

Demographics

Population Population trend^[17]^[18]^[19] Census Population Change (%) 2016 1,194   0.5% 2011 1,200   2.8% 2006 1,235   3.5% 2001 1,280

Language Mother tongue (2016)^[19] Language Population Pct (%) French only 45 3.8% English only 1,125 94.1% Both English and French 5 0.4% Other languages 20 1.7%

Access Routes

Highways and numbered routes that run through the parish, including external routes that start or finish at the parish limits:^[20]

Highways   Route 1

Principal Routes   Route 111

Secondary Routes:   Route 790   Route 795

External Routes: None

See also

• List of parishes in New Brunswick

Notes

1. Not including brooks, ponds or coves.

References

1. "Census Profile". Statistics Canada. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
2. "Chapter T-3 Territorial Division Act". Government of New Brunswick. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
3. "Chapter I-13 Interpretation Act". Government of New Brunswick. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
4. The Territorial Division Act^[2] divides the province into 152 parishes, the cities of Saint John and Fredericton, and one town of Grand Falls. The Interpretation Act^[3] clarifies that parishes include any local government within their borders.
5. "Southwest Regional Service Commission: RSC 10". Government of New Brunswick. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
6. "Regions Regulation – Regional Service Delivery Act". Government of New Brunswick. 21 July 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
7. "Local Service Districts Regulation - Municipalities Act". Government of New Brunswick. 25 June 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
8. "Communities in each of the 12 Regional Service Commissions (RSC) / Les communautés dans chacune des 12 Commissions de services régionaux (CSR)" (PDF), Government of New Brunswick, July 2017, retrieved 2 February 2021
9. "Musquash Parish". Provincial Archives of New Brunswick. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
10. Ganong, William F. (1896). A Monograph of the Place-Nomenclature of the Province of New Brunswick. Royal Society of Canada. p. 227. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
11. "musquash". The Free Dictionary. Farlex. Retrieved 23 October 2020. American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language and Collins English Dictionary are cited.
12. "40 Vic. c. 21 An Act to erect part of the Parish of Lancaster, in the City and County of Saint John, into a separate Parish.". Acts of the General Assembly of Her Majesty's Province of New Brunswick. Passed in the Month of March 1877. Fredericton: Government of New Brunswick. 1877. pp. 91–93. Available as a free ebook from Google Books.
13. "No. 163". Provincial Archives of New Brunswick. Department of Natural Resources and Energy Development. Retrieved 22 June 2021. Remainder of parish on map 164 at same site.
14. "482" (PDF). Transportation and Infrastructure. Government of New Brunswick. Retrieved 22 June 2021. Remainder of parish on mapbooks 483, 492, 493, and 499 at same site.
15. "Search the Canadian Geographical Names Database (CGNDB)". Government of Canada. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
16. "Explore New Brunswick's Protected Natural Areas". GeoNB. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
17. Statistics Canada: 2001, 2006 census
18. 2011 Statistics Canada Census Profile: Musquash Parish, New Brunswick
19. "Census Profile, 2016 Census: Musquash, Parish [Census subdivision], New Brunswick". Statistics Canada. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
20. Atlantic Canada Back Road Atlas ISBN 978-1-55368-618-7