The First History of New Brunswick

The First History of New Brunswick

This book by Peter Fisher was first published in 1825 under the title Sketches of New Brunswick. Below is an excerpt from the section on Kings County. I was surprised at the population (2011 population 69,665):

"It contains seven thousand nine hundred and thirty inhabitants.

It comprehends the Long Reach, the Kennebeckasis (sic) and Belisle (sic), and is divided into the following parishes - Westfield, Greenwich, Kingston, Springfield, Norton, Sussex and Hampton. Kingston has a Township regularly laid out, which bears the name of the Parish. It has a neat Church, with a resident Minister, and a number of neat buildings, which make a fine appearance. The Court-House, however is a considerable distance from the Town. The settlers in most parts of this Parish have the appearance of comfort and affluence, although the land is inferior in fertility to most of the other Parishes.

. . . There are two quarries of excellent Plaster of Paris on the river Kennebeckasis. There is likewise a salt spring in this part of the country, from which small quantities of salt have been made by the Indians and the Inhabitants settled near the place, which has proved of an excellent quality for the table, and there can be no doubt of its possessing valuable medicinal qualities; but no attention has yet been paid to analyse it. Great quantities of sugar are extracted from the sugar maple in this county, upwards of ten thousand pounds have been made in a year, of that valuable article in the Parish."