MacDougall Settlement

He came upon a clear water spring and decided to build on that spot. He met an Irish settler, Colin Livingstone, who had moved from Nova Scotia to homestead, a few years earlier and before 1817. Their properties shared the old beaver meadow. John Coll lived with Colin until 1825 and that year, on October 31^st, John Coll married Ann Howard Chapman whom he had met while staying in Cocagne. They settled in MacDougall Settlement. So did the McNeils, McKinnons, Murrays and Duffs.

The first Acadians to settle in MacDougall Settlement were Joseph Poirier (Grande-Digue), Philippe Gagnon (Québec), Joseph Landry and Denis Landry (Cap Pelé), Hubert Lirette (Cocagne). These names appeared in the 1851 census and 10 years later, the census showed the families of Poirier, Gagnon, Fontaine, Landry, LeBlanc, McGraw along with McNeils, McKinnons, Murray, and Duff.

Soon, the village had farms, stores, post office, English school, French school, church, etc. A water powered grist mill operated near the creek on today’s Falconer Road.

The Bouctouche – Moncton train line had a stop in MacDougall Settlement, near the local store. The train brought supplies, passengers, and mail to small nearby post offices such as Suretteville where the postmaster made daily trips, by horse or on snowshoes, to pick up mail at the MacDougall station.

By 1900’s, the silver fox industry was well established and flourishing in the province and across Canada. John W. Tidd, Charles and James Teed, William Murray and Frank Stewart started in the fox business by purchasing a patch fox and a red fox, paying $2,000 for the pair. They started the first fox ranch at MacDougall Settlement which was managed by Charles and James Teed. It was a very lucrative business. The industry remained strong in the 1940s.

In the 1930s, the MacDougall Settlement post office was still open, and the village was expanding. In 1934, a major forest fire nearby threatened the village. There was a second major fire twelve years later. In 1946, seven hundred men fought a major fire and after three days, with the help of lasting rain, the flames were extinguished. Fortunately, only the barn owned by Arthur and Exelda Goguen was lost in MacDougall’s. All in all, the fire destroyed approximately 35,000 square miles of forest and twenty or so houses, one barn, and cottages.

By the mid-fifties, the three area schools had closed within a short period. The English schools in MacDougall Settlement and Scotch Settlement closed and students transferred to the new school in Irishtown, the Mountain View Consolidated School. The French school in MacDougalls’s closed and its students transferred to the l’École Centrale de Notre-Dame.

MacDougall Road is 9.4 km long and starts where Scotch Settlement Road ends, at the corner where St. David’s Church once stood. It ends at the corner of Shediac River Road. The area traditionally includes part of the Falconer Road. This is a land of open sky, beautiful rural scenery, and peaceful surroundings. Some businesses have long been established while new ones like Skydive Moncton with its airfield and club house add to the uniqueness of MacDougall’s. The village’s rich history and great pride are preserved by passionate descendants of founding families, many of whom continue to live here.

1800 to 1850

Before 1817
Colin Livingstone, an Irishman, had moved from Nova Scotia was settled in today’s MacDougall Settlement.

1821
John Coll MacDougall applied for a land grant in what is today, MacDougall Settlement. Born in 1797 in Oban, Argyll and Bute, Scotland, he left poor conditions and moved to “British North America”, now Canada.

He sailed on “The Economy” to Pictou, Nova Scotia in 1819 and stayed with his cousins for a while. He decided to return to Scotland and walked to New Brunswick to catch a ship back home. When he arrived at Pointe-du-Chêne, he found that the Cocagne River had frozen over and that his ship had already sailed.

He stayed in Cocagne and worked at ferrying people across the Cocagne River, where the current bridge stands today. One day, he walked along the north side of the river to now Notre-Dame Centre and then walked south to end up in what is today, MacDougall Settlement. He came upon a clear water spring and decided to build on that spot. He met Colin Livingstone, an Irishman who had recently settled, having moved from Nova Scotia. Their properties would share the old Beaver Meadow. John Coll lived with Colin until 1825.

1823
On May 1, 1823, Colin Livingstone was granted land in MacDougall Settlement.

1825
On October 31, 1825, John Coll MacDougall married Anne Howard Chapman and they settled in what is today, MacDougall Settlement. They met in Cocagne where they were both staying.

1825
Colin Livingstone left MacDougall Settlement with his wife for Kouchibouguac, New Brunswick, as she longed for the sea.

1826
Dundas was created from Wellington Parish, and it covered a large territory on the southern belt of Kent County. Communities such as Cocagne, Grande-Digue, Notre-Dame, Saint-Antoine, Goudalie, etc. were all part of the civil Parish of Dundas.

early 1840’s
The first Acadian settlers to arrive in MacDougall Settlement were Joseph Poirier (Grande-Digue), Philippe Gagnon (Québec), Joseph Landry et Denis Landry (Cap Pelé), Hubert Lirette (Cocagne). These names appeared in the 1851 and 1861 census. Sometime later, the McGraw family settled here. They were followed by the McNeils, McKinnons, Murrays, and Duffs who settled down the road towards Scotch Settlement.

1841
On March 4, 1841, John MacDougall was granted land.

1845
Joseph Poirier built a log house in MacDougall Settlement and in 1871, sold it to Philippe Gagnon. It is known that Edouard Gagnon lived there between 1900 and 1950. Afterwards, Tilmon Gagnon lived there until 1972 when Jaddus Babineau purchased the house and accompanying land. For many years, it remained vacant. The log house was eventually moved to Grande-Digue for museum purposes. It is considered a fine example of craftsmanship.

1847
On March 4, 1847, John MacDougall was granted more land.

1848
A. Gagnon was granted land at MacDougall Settlement on June 15, 1848.

1851 to 1875

1851
On April 16, 1851, John MacDougall was granted more land.

The MacDougall family were among the early English-speaking settlers for which the community got its name. Their house was home of the MacDougall Settlement Post Office until the time of Rural Mail delivery. The cemetery on their property is where rest early settlers such as the MacDougalls, Duffs, MacNeils, Teeds, Mugridges and others. One tombstone bears the name of MacLean, where four of the family of the late Mr. & Mrs. Hugh MacLean, Scotch Settlement, are buried. These four met their death when the family home was destroyed by fire.

1853
Samuel Wesley Teed and his wife Annie (Stuart) Teed lived nearby. Samuel was born April 24, 1888, to parents Thomas and Alice (Donnelly) Teed. Annie was born in 1892 to parents Edward Stuart and Katherine (McNeil) Stuart of Scotch Settlement. They were married in Moncton on October 27, 1920, and moved to Notre-Dame near the family homestead until 1934 when they moved to the Stuart homestead in Scotch Settlement. They had three children. Wesley was the son of Thomas and Alice (Donnelly) Teed and Annie was the daughter of Edward Stuart and Katherine (McNeil) Stuart of Scotch Settlement.

Note: Thomas Teed (1838-1907) met and married Alice Donnelly (1848-1928) in Saint-John, New Brunswick and most of their children were born there except for three who were born either in Notre-Dame or Shediac River. They moved to Notre-Dame sometime between 1881 and 1891, moving from Thomas’s father’s property in Shediac River. Their son, William J., was born in 1886 and married Emma B. Cobham (born in Saint-John in 1889) on October 15, 1906. Emma lived with William James Cobham and Emily Jane (Johnston) Cobham – presumed adopted as census shows her as their daughter. William died of consumption at 22 on March 22, 1908. They had one child, Atkin C. Teed, born in 1907 and he also died of tuberculosis at the age of 22.  

In 1920, Samuel Wesley, son of Thomas and Alice (Donnelly) Teed, married Annie in Moncton. They moved and lived near the family homes.

1857
A. McGraw and Constantin Landry settled in MacDougall Settlement. They were both granted land on April 14, 1857.

1859
Coll MacDougall (born 1827), eldest son of John and Anne Howard Chapman MacDougall, married Mary from Prince Edward Island on January 11, 1859. Mary was born June 15, 1833, and died in 1914. Both Coll and Mary are buried in the MacDougall Settlement cemetery.

1861
A census showed new families in MacDougall Settlement: the Fontaine, Landry, LeBlanc, McGraw, McNeil, McKinnon, Murray, and Duff families.

See the historical map to find these and other names of early settlers.

1867
A post office was operating in MacDougall Settlement between 1867 and 1902. Archives also show that it operated between 1902 and 1934. John Coll MacDougall was postmaster for many years.

1870
Alexander Falconer opened a grain mill on what is now Falconer Road in Notre-Dame. It was in operation until the beginning of the century. Alexander, born in Scotland in 1828, immigrated to Canada and came to our region. In 1864 he moved from Dixon’s Point to the south side of the river, sometimes called Victoriaville. From 1870 until the turn of the century, Falconer operated a water-powered grist mill adjacent to the “S” Turn on what is today known as Falconer Road. He was married to Sarah Geddes who was born in 1841 and died in 1926. He was a postmaster in the 1870s and last in 1880. He died in 1909.

1875
A post office opened at MacDougall Settlement and operated until 1935.

1875 /1880
John Coll MacDougall, who was born in 1797, died on February 15, 1875. His wife, Anne Howard Chapman MacDougall, was born in 1806 and died March 30, 1880. They had nine children.

1876 to 1900

Abt 1880
Two schools were built: a French school in LeBlancville which remained open until 1946 and an English school in MacDougall Settlement which remained open until 1958.

1880
Andrew Lirette is granted land next to John MacDougall’s property on October 25, 1880.

1883
A historic railroad company was founded in New Brunswick with plans to build a rail line linking Bouctouche and Moncton and the communities in between. Construction started in 1886 and was completed in 1887, the rail line opened on September 1, 1887, but it did not reach Moncton until 1888, when there was an extention.  The railway line was sold to the Canadian Government Railways (CGR) in 1894.

1885
St. David’s Presbyterian Church was built at the corner of MacDougall Settlement Road and Scotch Settlement Road. It served both communities. It was officially opened and was dedicated on March 23, 1885, free of debt. It could seat 150 people with room for extra if needed. In 1975, then Presbyterian Rev J. D. Murray (Bouctouche) joined the Union Church of Canada and became the founder and first minister of St. David’s United Church. It closed June 30, 2014, and has since been demolished.

Spring 1886
Father F.X.-J. Michaud (Cocagne and Notre-Dame visiting priest), Presbyterian Minister M. Murray, and Gilbert Girouard teamed together and lobbied to get a railway line built between Bouctouche and Moncton. Construction of the 30-mile-long railway line began in 1886 and was completed the following year, being built by locals. After years of slow overland and river transportation, the train greatly stimulated the area economy. The lumber industry was booming. Extensive wood operations were being carried out to produce hulled tan bark, logs, barrel wood, and cord wood. The train offered a passenger service which was a popular means of transportation for the local population.  The train passenger service was offered until 1955.

1888
The privately owned railway line between Bouctouche and Moncton was completed. On April 29, 1888, the train made its first full run, leaving Bouctouche at 08:00 and stopping at several places including Notre-Dame at 08:52 and MacDougall’s at 09:08 before arriving in Moncton at 10:08. It returned in late afternoon, arriving in Bouctouche at 18:08.

Note: A portion of the rail line was opened on September 1, 1887, and in the next year, the line was extended to Moncton crossing the Intercolonial in Bouctouche Junction and continuing north to Bouctouche. In 1918, the Bouctouche-Moncton railway line became part of the Canadian National Railway (CNR). Passenger service was offered until 1955.

1889
The first area telephone was installed at the home of John Coll MacDougall. This same home enjoyed the first area battery radio in 1925.

1889
A territory was established for the new church, the parish was canonized, and the community welcomed its first priest, Père Honoré Ouellet, who stayed until 1897. Between 1889 and 1923, Notre-Dame parish served the neighboring community of Saint-Antoine.

Note: There is conflicting information regarding the source of the stones used to build St. Bernard Church (Botsford Street in Gordon, Moncton – 1887 to 1891) and Mary’s Home (Mountain Road in Bonaccord, Moncton – 1908). These buildings were not built with stones from the Stevens quarry in Notre-Dame. According to the “Industrial Minerals Summary Data” reports, published by the New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources, in both cases the stones came from the McSweeney Quarry located in Scotch Settlement. This quarry belonged to Edward McSweeney, former mayor of Moncton.

1894
The first French school opened in MacDougall Settlement. It was located between the Elisban Gagnon store and the train tracks. Apparently, the school was burnt down following a dispute. A second and a third were built consecutively at the corner of Whites Settlement and MacDougall Settlement Road. In 1959, the MacDougall School was closed, and students were transferred to the new l’École Centrale de Notre-Dame, located across the road from the Catholic Church.

1894
The Bouctouche-Moncton railway line, owned by the Canadian Government Railways (CGR), went bankrupt. The CGR became part of the Canadian National Railway. The railway line was sold to Captain Israel J. Merritt of New York. There would be another change of ownership in 1911.

1896
On May 21, 1896, the MacDougall family home was destroyed by fire. A new home was built on the same location.

1898
MacDougall Settlement was described in archives as being a farming and lumbering settlement with one post office, one store, one church and a population of 300.

Before 1900
The Village des Pishcots was inhabited by the first arrivals, Daniel Landry, Aimée Landry, Jean Landry, Dominique Landry, Dominique Lirette, Philias Bourgeois and Lucien LeBlanc. In 1900, the Village des Pishcots was abandoned without knowing exactly why. The town was located between Suretteville and Falconer Road.

1901 to 1925

1901
The Catholic Church was officially named Notre-Dame-du-Sacré-Coeur and the parish subsequently defined the territory of the community of Notre-Dame. The settlements (or historical villages) included were MacDougall Settlement, Poirier Office, LeBlancville, Dufourville, Notre-Dame Centre, Guéguen, Hays, Alexandrina-Nor’ouest, North and South sides of the river, Whites Settlement, and MacDougall Settlement along with Village des Pishcots, Village des Fricots, Suretteville, Teed Road and Chemin des Thaddées.

1902
Anthony Johnson (Mill Creek/MacNairn) bought a farm in MacDougall Settlement. His father Thomas emigrated from Newcastle, England, moving to Prince Edward Island before settling in Mill Creek where he operated a sawmill and where his brother William operated a grist mill.

1910
The Manchester locomotive (ex. I.C.R. no. 139), built in New Hampshire in 1875, began making the Bouctouche – Moncton run and operated until the 1914 derailment.

1911
Captain Israel J. Merritt (New York, USA) sold his Bouctouche-Moncton railway line to the Bouctouche Railway and Transportation Company which was renamed to the Moncton and Northumberland Strait Railway Company. This rail line will change ownership again in 1918.

1911
Fox farming was a very lucrative business. According to the Report on the Fur Farms of Canada 1925, published by the Canada Dominion Bureau of Statistics, Fur Branch, published under the authority of the Honorable James Malcolm, MP, Minister of Commerce (1927), New Brunswick had 106 fox farms in 1924 and 206 in 1925. Most of these were silver fox farms. The report also states that in 1925 there were one hundred and thirteen farms in Westmorland County (including MacDougall Settlement) with two hundred and thirty-two animals. The industry remained strong into the 1940s.

1913
The silver fox industry flourished quickly. John W. Tidd, Charles and James Teed, William Murray, and Frank Stewart started a business by purchasing a patch fox and a red fox and paying $2,000 for the pair. Their first fox ranch at MacDougall Settlement was managed by Charles and James Teed.

1914
On February 20, 1914, one of the province’s worst train accidents occurred in Scotch Settlement, on the Bouctouche-Moncton rail line. While attempting to clear the drifting snow on the railway track, the train was made up of a snowplough, followed by engine #1 manned by engineer Alex MacKee and fireman Sylvain Bourque. Next came the flanger and engine # 3 with engineer Gideon Smith at throttle and fireman George Freeman, his son-in-law. Behind was a combination baggage and passenger car with nearly 30 people, shovelers, and passengers. Four men died: owner Frank T. Hall, Sylvain Bourque (son of Antoine Bourque), Gideon Smith and George Freeman.   Four were seriously injured: Alex McKee, William Bastarache, Alyre Richard, and John McFadden.

1918
The Moncton and Northumberland Strait Railway and Transportation Company (Bouctouche-Moncton rail line) was sold for $70,000 and put under the control of the Intercolonial Railway before being made part of the Canadian National Railway (CNR) system. It was important infrastructure and an efficient way to serve the busy area. It played a key part in the area’s development, facilitating trade of goods to and from Moncton and the rural surroundings. In 1965, the CNR abandoned its Bouctouche-Moncton rail line as of January 1. All except a small 1.7-mile-long trackage, known as the “Humphrey spur” or simply “Humphrey” which continues to be used in Moncton.

1925
The first battery radio was owned by Coll MacDougall.

1925 to 1988

1926
There was a forest fire in MacDougall Settlement, but little is known about it. However, some information is known about the 1946 fire that resulted in MacDougall Settlement residents being evacuated.

1946
In July 1946, a four-day forest fire threatened MacDougall Settlement. It started at St-Philippe / Weisner and quickly spread to Shediac Cape and Gilbert’s Corner. Two days later, a change in wind direction put MacDougall Settlement in harm’s way and the settlement was evacuated. Scoudouc and Shediac River areas were also threatened. Seven hundred men fought this fire and after three days, with the help of lasting rain, the fire was extinguished. As far as MacDougall’s is concerned, only one building was lost, a barn owned by Arthur and Exelda Goguen. All in all, the fire destroyed approximately 35,000 square miles of forest and twenty or so houses, one barn, and cottages. A few years earlier, in 1934, a major forest fire had also threatened MacDougall’s.

1954/56
A home postal delivery service was introduced in Notre-Dame. Mail was delivered by drivers who would insert letters and parcels in mailboxes next to the road of each house and business throughout the community. One route started at the Notre-Dame Post Office then onward to Hays, Alexandrina-Nor’ouest, across the covered bridges to Poirier Office, LeBlancville, Dufourville and ending where the route began, at the post office. Delivery areas grew to include Guéguen, the South side of the river road. The MacDougall Settlement mail delivery was and remains part of a different route.

With the arrival of mailboxes and home postal delivery, several small post offices were closed, such as Dufourville, LeBlancville, Alexandrina-Nor’ouest, Poirier Office, and MacDougall Settlement.

1955
By 1955, passenger rail travel on the Bouctouche-Moncton line had been discontinued.

1958
The English school at MacDougall Settlement closed and students were transferred to Scotch Settlement school which served both communities until 1963.

1958
Notre-Dame was made up of 7 different school districts: Upper Guéguen, Hays, Alexandrina, LeBlancville, Dufourville, MacDougall Settlement and Notre-Dame. A few years back, the Whites Settlement district had joined Cocagne. The school board was responsible for school maintenance and repair as well as for the hiring of teachers, heating, and other expenses, paid for by local taxes.

1959
On January 14, 1959, the two-room wooden schoolhouse École de Dundas was destroyed by fire. Classes are held in the parish hall and in the church basement. Ten short months later, a new two storey brick school was officially opened on November 14. L’École Centrale de Notre-Dame continues to cater to francophone students from the four corners of the community. Today, it is known as École Notre-Dame. First principal was Roméo Robichaud, followed by Gérald Aucoin who remained for many years. President of the School Board was Ernest Gallant.

1963
English students from MacDougall Settlement and Scotch Settlement attended a new school in Irishtown, the Mountain View Consolidated School.

1965
The last section of the Bouctouche-Moncton rail line was abandoned on January 1, 1965.