Grand Lake was incorporated on January 1, 2023 via the amalgamation of the former villages of Minto and Chipman as well as the concurrent annexation of adjacent unincorporated areas.[1]
Coal Mining Industry
The memorial stone of five who died in an abandoned mine shaft in 1932, Grand Lake, New Brunswick, Canada.
The inscription (1982) on the Minto Memorial Stone.
The Grand Lake Coal Mining industry began in the 1630's when French settlers, called Acadians, learned about surface deposits of coal in the Coal Creek area now called Chipman, NB. The French used coal in their fort at the mouth of the Saint John river and in 1639 began selling coal to the British colony in the area now known as Boston, USA. This commercial trade in coal has been recognized as a National Historic Event and the First Export of Coal in America, by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Parks Canada.The need of transporting coal brought the railway to Grand Lake, and was to make the area "the most prosperous place in Canada." The New Brunswick Central Railway opened a railroad from Saint John to Chipman in 1889, and in 1904[2] the railroad was extended to Minto. The rails were extended to Fredericton in 1913,
Although the railroad lines through Minto have since been removed, the railroad station continues on as a local museum/gift & flowers shop. By the end of 2010, coal mining in Minto ended when the last coal mining company, NB Coal Ltd, closed.
The Grand Lake Generating Station as seen in May 2010.
During the early years of the Great Depression, the New Brunswick Electric Power Commission built the province's first thermal generating station at Newcastle Creek on the shores of Grand Lake. Opened in 1931, the Grand Lake Generating Station accessed coal from nearby deposits. NB Power closed the Grand Lake Station when its operating license expired in June 2010.[3] As the Station has been NB Coal’s only customer since 2000, NB Coal closed in December 2009. On April 19, 2012 the Grand Lake Generating Station was demolished,[4] and by this time all coal mining in New Brunswick had ended.
World War II internment camp
During the Second World War, the largest internment camp in eastern Canada was located in the hamlet of Ripples. Originally it housed German and Austrian Jews who had fled the Nazis to England.[5]
Some youths later became notable, including theologian Gregory Baum, chemist Ernest Eliel and physicist Walter Kohn.[6] Later after these Jewish refugees had been released into Canadian life, it became a prison for German prisoners of war,[5] as well as some sympathizers such as Canadian fascist Adrien Arcand. Its most notable prisoner at this time was the anti-conscriptionist mayor of Montreal, Camillien Houde.[7]
This internment camp is now a protected site, because it is in a Game Reserve created after the war. The only structure remaining at the site is the base of a water-tower where a plaque stands, visible from the highway. A walking trail leads into the forest where a few ruins of the camp and posted signs describing the area may be found. There is a small museum dedicated to the camp located on the basement level of Grand Lake's municipal building, at 420 Pleasant Drive, Minto.[5][8]
Although Grand Lake is a wide-spread community, there are recreational activities that take place year-round. It has the Minto Centennial Arena and the Chipman Arena,[10][11] lighted and unlighted ball parks, family parks, nature trails, mountain bike trails,[12] and hunting and fishing resources.
Each year there are two festivals in Grand Lake. In summer the Minto Coal Mining Festival[13]) is celebrated in June–July,[14] first run in 1972.[13] The Santa Claus Parade and Tree Lighting Ceremony[15] is celebrated in November–December, with the first annual parade held in 2010.
Once a year mountain bike racers[16] descend on the village of Grand Lake for a race[17] known as 'The Coal Miner's Lung'.[18][19][20] The endurance races covers 20 km, 40 km or 60 km of Grand Lake single track.
Minto Gazebo in Veterans Park summer 2013 in Grand Lake, New Brunswick.
Education
This is the front corner of the Minto Memorial High School in Grand Lake, New Brunswick, Canada
There are four schools in Grand Lake: Minto Elementary and Middle School, Minto Memorial High School, Chipman Elementary School and Chipman Forest Avenue High School. All schools offer extracurricular activities including sports clubs, destination conservation, peer helpers and student government. While Minto Elementary and Middle School is a newer building, Minto High has required some updates since the school was founded in 1939; the gym on the main floor has recently been renovated into a theatre (which MEMS has) and got a new gym located in the basement along with a shop room. In 2011 the New Brunswick Community College (NBCC) Fredericton campus established a satellite campus[21] the Minto Regional Delivery Site.[22]
