350:. The province granted the company 10,000 acres of crown land per mile of track, for a total of 1,647,772 acres of forested land. The charter stipulated that construction must start in three years, with completion in eight years. After two years of unsuccessful efforts by the company to raise money in England to finance construction, Gibson offered to pay one quarter of the cost. Gibson took over as president of the company and with the granting of another $ 225,000 by city and county governments, construction began in May 1872. The railway, which was called the "Gibson Line" reached Edmundson in 1878. Its southern terminus was at the village of Gibson (named after Alexander Gibson) on the north bank of the Saint John River near the mouth of the Nashwaak. In 1880 the company was sold and Alexander Gibson received $ 800,000 for his shares.
28:
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Railroad and
Manufacturing Company in 1900. Finally, he was unable to extricate himself from his financial difficulties. The cotton mill property was taken over by the Canadian Colored Cotton Mills Company in 1907, while his remaining business assets were transferred to his creditors in 1908. He received an annual pension of $ 5,000 and the right to live in his house in Marysville for the rest of his life. Alexander Gibson died at his home in Marysville on 14 August 1913, at the age of ninety four. His wife had predeceased him in 1898.
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poor, as he speculated modestly in land in St. Andrews until about 1825, when he applied for and was granted a 60-acre tract of farmland in Oak Bay, near St. Stephen, selling two 20-acre lots and reserving the easternmost portion for his own family. John Gibson, the Boss's father, is given as "shoemaker" on his son's baptismal record, but became a farmer upon the move to Oak Bay.
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196:, Ireland in 1827, two years before her parents emigrated to Canada and settled in Baillie Settlement, one of many tiny farming communities surrounding St. Stephen and Milltown, little more that what one commentator described as "windows in the forest.". Alexander Gibson and his wife were to have twelve children, of whom six lived to adulthood.
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in 1993. It was described as "among the earliest and most complete
Canadian examples of an integrated industrial/ residential community", while the "high quality, brick construction of both tenements and mill reflect Gibson's optimism for the community". The cotton mill building received a separate
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Through the 1890s, also, his lumber export business became less profitable, due to the increasing age of his mills and the declining supply of suitable lumber on his land. He reorganized and recapitalized his businesses, first as
Alexander Gibson & Sons in 1897, and then as the Alexander Gibson
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The
Canadian cotton textile industry, including Gibson's enterprise, soon ran into difficulties. These included a shortage of skilled workers, competition for raw materials, and dependence on imported technology. Most serious was the fact that the market could not support the amount of cotton cloth
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Most of the building materials came from Gibson's own land. The bricks were manufactured on the site, from clay dug on Gibson's property. Brick was used to construct rows of duplex houses for the mill workers, as well as a brick hotel to house unmarried female employees. Raw cotton from the United
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in northeastern New
Brunswick. The federal and provincial governments pledged subsidies of $ 3,000 and $ 3,200 per mile, respectively. A line between Gibson and Marysville was completed in the summer of 1884, while the remainder was finished by September 1886. In 1893 Gibson bought out his partner
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of land. The grandparents seem both to have been born in
Scotland, but all of the children were of Irish birth. Unlike the waves of poor Irish who were beginning to land in the Maritimes (St. Andrews alone landed several thousands between 1817 and 1818), Gibson's grandfather seems not to have been
521:
by the
Canadian government in 2007. The citation noted that he was "a pivotal figure in the economy of the Maritimes at a time of transformation and integration within the national economy" and that he "left an important legacy of railway and industrial infrastructure in his province". His Family
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style, it was octagonal in shape with a 156-foot spire. It was framed with imported southern pine with walnut, mahogany and ash interior fittings, and had elaborate stained glass windows imported from
England. Gibson paid the minister's and organist's salaries and gave each choir member an annual
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In 1864 the New
Brunswick government passed the Railway Facility Act, which encouraged the building of railways by giving companies a subsidy of $ 10,000 per mile. The first railway company in the Fredericton area was the Fredericton Railway Company, of which Gibson was a director. It was
279:, and built more dams in order to improve the flow of logs to his sawmills. He also renovated the mills, outfitting them with double gang saws, and brought in experienced workers from Lepreau to run them. In the spring of 1863 the mills began sawing 3 inch
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in 1818, accompanied by John Gibson's parents, Alexander Gibson Sr. and Janet Moore, brothers James and Stuart, and sister
Margaret. During Alexander Gibson's childhood in the 1820s the family lived in a log house and farmed six
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Gibson was president of the Fredericton and St. Mary's Railway Bridge Company, which was incorporated by federal government in 1885 to build the bridge across the Saint John River between Fredericton and Gibson. The
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houses built on the opposite side of the river from the mill, with a foot bridge crossing the river. Gibson paid for the building of a school, which opened in 1864 and included a library room containing 300 books.
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shop, and "a number of houses well suited for workmen", as well as a farm and 7,000 acres of woodland. The purchase price also included the right to float logs and rafts down the Nashwaak River to its mouth in the
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meeting-house until he funded the construction of a magnificent Methodist church. The Marysville Methodist Church, which cost Gibson over $ 65,000, was dedicated on 5 January 1873. Built of wood in
977:
251:
owned the operation, which was failing because of poor management and had been offered for sale for several years before Gibson purchased it for £7,300. The property included sawmills, a
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organized as early as 1886 to try to prevent overproduction, but in 1892 he agreed to market all his production through the Canadian Colored Cotton Mills Company Limited of Montreal.
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and became sole owner of the company, which had become the Canada Eastern Railway in 1890. In 1904 he sold the railway to the federal government for $ 800,000.
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passed an act incorporating the Town of Marysville in April 1886. As well as naming the town after his wife and daughter, Gibson chose the
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on 1 August 1818. He was the first of seven children born to John Gibson and his wife Mary Jane Johnson, who had immigrated to Canada from
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in Canada, particularly in the Atlantic Provinces, and Gibson soon had one of the largest in Canada. The mill, which was designed by
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States started arriving at Marysville in 1885 and the mill was in full production by the end of 1889, employing 500 people by 1893.
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Baptismal record for Alexander Gibson, August 6, 1820, with accompanying birth record. Courtesy All Saints Church, St. Andrews, NB
421:, had four storeys and was 418 feet long by 100 feet wide. It had steam heat and a sprinkler system as fire protection. Its 800
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299:, and thence to the British or American markets. Eventually Gibson also shipped wood to South America, Australia, and the
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303:. At times his wood production accounted for more than half of the goods exported annually from the port of Saint John.
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The building of the cotton mill and worker's houses in the 1880s transformed the community, which was designated the
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which were first used in the area in the 1840s. In the 1850s, with an American partner, Gibson leased a sawmill and
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When Gibson arrived at his newly purchased property on the Nashwaak in 1862 he found poor sanitation and endemic
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tree as the image to appear on the town's crest. In the town's first election in January 1887, his son
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The cotton industry was, to a greater extent perhaps than any other, a child of the National Policy.
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In his first 10 years of operation on the Nashwaak, Gibson was granted 30,000 acres of forested
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Plot in the Alexander Gibson Memorial Cemetery, 351 Canada Street, Fredericton was declared an
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Historic Fredericton North: Nashwaaksis, Devon, Barker's Point, Marysville, 1825–1950
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In 1862 Gibson left Charlotte County and purchased land and a sawmill operation on the
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In 1883 Gibson embarked on a new venture, the manufacture of cotton textiles. The
361:, which had been incorporated to build a railway from Fredericton to the towns of
346:, which received a provincial government charter in 1870 to build a line north to
357:, which was not yet served by a railway line. In 1882 he became president of the
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after his wife and his eldest daughter, both of whom were named Mary. He had 24
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On Earth as it is in Heaven: Gothic Revival Churches of Victorian New Brunswick
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Gibson's second railway venture was as a director, and later president, of the
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Gibson's involvement in a third railway company took place when he opened the
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Gibson immediately began to improve and expand the operation. He enlarged the
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Jones, Ted (25 October 2003). "Boss Gibson's wife, matriarch of Marysville".
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Gibson married Mary Ann Robinson on 31 December 1843. She had been born in
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incorporated in 1866 to build a line from Fredericton to the community of
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327:. When it opened in November 1867 it joined the Western Extension of the
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as well as a "hard-driving entrepreneur". He was recognized as a
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812:"Marysville Historic District National Historic Site of Canada"
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to accommodate the mill workers and their families, calling it
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Marysville Historic District National Historic Site of Canada
869:. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp. 127–129.
837:"Marysville Cotton Mill National Historic Site of Canada"
762:. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp. 83–84.
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The top floor of Gibson's large new store was used as a
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electric lights were the first in the Fredericton area.
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and later mill manager. He became an expert at managing
441:. Gibson had the site cleaned up and then built a new
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at the mouth of the Nashwaak. They were then taken on
935:"Gibson Family Plot National Historic Site of Canada"
897:. 15 Aug 1913. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
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A postcard view of the cotton mill in the early 1900s
310:, and bought another 93,000 acres of forest from the
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produced by all the mills. Gibson refused to join a
910:"Gibson, Alexander "Boss" National Historic Person"
863:"The 1890s: Fragmentation and the new social order"
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108:
98:
90:
80:
72:
56:
37:
18:
978:Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)
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481:was elected mayor, a position he held until 1908.
131:(1 August 1818 – 14 August 1913) was a Canadian
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914:Designations of National Historic Significance
632:. Vol. 14. Toronto: University of Toronto
513:Alexander Gibson was remembered as a generous
865:. In Forbes, Ernest R.; Muise, D. A. (eds.).
758:. In Forbes, Ernest R.; Muise, D. A. (eds.).
8:
968:People from Charlotte County, New Brunswick
725:Squires, W. Austin; Chapman, J. K. (1980).
790:. Fredericton, N.B.: Goose Lane Editions.
786:Finley, A. Gregg; Wigginton, Lynn (1995).
733:. Fredericton, N.B.: City of Fredericton.
729:History of Fredericton: the Last 200 Years
312:New Brunswick and Nova Scotia Land Company
139:, Canada. His business interests included
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15:
891:"Alexander Gibson, Sr. Died This Morning"
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544:Boss Gibson: Lumber King of New Brunswick
295:down the Saint John River to the port of
693:The History of Marysville, New Brunswick
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519:Person of National Historic Significance
283:, called deals, which were floated to a
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867:The Atlantic Provinces in Confederation
760:The Atlantic Provinces in Confederation
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686:
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682:
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344:New Brunswick Land and Railway Company
653:New Brunswick: An Illustrated History
264:across from the city of Fredericton.
204:Alexander Gibson went to work in the
7:
1003:19th-century Canadian businesspeople
359:Northern and Western Railway Company
409:of 1879 encouraged the building of
329:European and North American Railway
275:across the river above an existing
756:"The 1880s: Paradoxes of progress"
576:. Halifax, NS: Nimbus Publishing.
76:Alexander Gibson Memorial Cemetery
14:
998:Businesspeople from New Brunswick
572:Jones, Ted; Jones, Anita (2007).
67:Marysville, New Brunswick, Canada
695:. Fredericton, N.B.: D.D. Pond.
630:Dictionary of Canadian Biography
983:Businesspeople in wood products
234:Charlotte County, New Brunswick
993:Canadian railway entrepreneurs
973:Colony of New Brunswick people
908:Parks Canada (15 March 2012).
94:Lumber merchant, Industrialist
51:Oak Bay, New Brunswick, Canada
1:
673:. Fredericton, New Brunswick.
167:Alexander Gibson was born in
112:Mary Ann Robinson (1843—1898)
386:was completed in June 1888.
941:. Canada's Historic Places.
224:mills using the innovative
1019:
988:Businesspeople in textiles
415:Lockwood, Greene & Co.
384:Fredericton Railway Bridge
169:St. Andrews, New Brunswick
624:Young, D. Murray (1998).
471:New Brunswick Legislature
337:Saint John, New Brunswick
297:Saint John, New Brunswick
157:Marysville, New Brunswick
25:
841:Canada's Historic Places
816:Canada's Historic Places
754:Fingard, Judith (1993).
542:Sullivan, David (2015).
419:Providence, Rhode Island
247:. A company directed by
232:on the Lepreau River in
32:Alexander Gibson in 1870
210:Milltown, New Brunswick
129:Alexander "Boss" Gibson
861:McCann, Larry (1993).
655:. Halifax, NS: Nimbus.
497:Later years and legacy
491:National Historic Site
399:
376:Jabez Bunting Snowball
355:Marysville Cotton Mill
271:by putting a chain of
200:Sawmills and lumbering
189:
103:Marysville Cotton Mill
651:Rees, Ronald (2015).
493:designation in 1986.
397:
187:
895:The Winnipeg Tribune
691:Pond, D. D. (1983).
479:Alexander Gibson Jr.
121:Alexander Gibson Jr.
626:"Gibson, Alexander"
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190:
939:historicplaces.ca
671:The Daily Gleaner
553:978-0-9739358-4-4
504:trade association
151:. He founded the
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64:(aged 94)
60:14 August 1913
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48:1 August 1818
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917:. Retrieved
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819:. Retrieved
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634:. Retrieved
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411:cotton mills
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230:water rights
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153:company town
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62:(1913-08-14)
963:1913 deaths
958:1819 births
390:Cotton mill
301:West Indies
245:Fredericton
149:cotton mill
81:Nationality
952:Categories
919:3 February
846:2 February
821:2 February
740:0969048114
702:0969155808
636:30 January
530:References
447:Marysville
433:Marysville
423:carbon arc
348:Edmundston
308:Crown Land
257:blacksmith
216:, then as
163:Early life
44:1818-08-01
526:in 2010.
466:stipend.
459:Methodist
363:Newcastle
269:mill pond
253:gristmill
226:gang saws
318:Railways
289:lighters
285:log boom
206:sawmills
147:, and a
145:railways
141:sawmills
117:Children
85:Canadian
369:on the
367:Chatham
214:laborer
173:Ireland
873:
794:
766:
737:
699:
580:
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451:duplex
281:planks
218:sawyer
109:Spouse
333:Maine
293:rafts
273:piers
243:near
178:acres
921:2015
871:ISBN
848:2015
823:2015
792:ISBN
764:ISBN
735:ISBN
697:ISBN
638:2015
578:ISBN
548:ISBN
475:pine
469:The
365:and
57:Died
38:Born
417:of
335:to
291:or
277:dam
208:in
155:of
135:in
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
