THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SCOTTISH COLONIES OF

                  KINCARDINE, KINTORE, AND STONEHAVEN IN N.B.



  On the 18th April 1873 (150) Scottish families in County Kincardine were packing their food, clothing, and household treasures in preparation for a long journey over the ocean to found a New Kincardine in New Brunswick, Can. Their final destination was a forest area in Victoria County where they had been lead to expect cleared land with log houses erected, ready for occupying, and for which they would not have to pay rent.
  Their prospects in this new land had been painted in very rosy colors, and they were filled with hope and enthusiasm as they closed the doors of their old homes which most of them would never see again. They bade good-bye to aged parents and friends as their journey began, first to Aberdeen and then by train to Glasgow. By bus they arrived dockside to board the Anchor Line Steamship Castalia for St.John , N.B.
  On May 10th the ship anchored in St.John harbour and that night an advance party of 195 were in Fredericton quartered at the courthouse on Queen Street. Women and children made themselves as comfortable as possible sleeping on the upper floor while men and boys occupied the lower floor.
  The following day they were met by members of the St.Andrews Society who endeavored to make their Fredericton stay pleasant. Sunday they attended services in the Old Kirk, for they were mostly Presbyterian. Early Monday they began their journey up river to Victoria County on the steamer "Ida Whittier".
  The remainder of the party of 506 had stayed in St.John and on Monday started for Frederickton on the steamer "Olive" which had returned for them after which had returned for them and all the baggage from the ocean steamship. Tranferring to the "David Weston" they were taken to Fredericton where they rested at the courthouse til' daybreak to board the steamer "City of Fredericton" for the trip up the river. The whole party contained 199 children under 12 including one born at sea and baptized with the name of the ship and it's Captain.
  Thus far their trip had been no more than unusally strenuous, for they had travelled on large vessels well protected from the weather. Now began their difficulties, for the small river steamer going above Fredericton had little cabin space with large open decks made to haul freight. Not only was the river in freshet full of logs and drifting ice, but strong winds and frequent showers buffeted the settlers.
Shelter was difficult and progress up the river slow. A few miles above Woodstock they they had to tie up to the bank for the night. Sickness and colds especially among the children was prevalent while Day 2 on a crowded river steamer, always uncomfortable was even more so with all the families worldly belongings. Worse trouble was in store as they reached the mouth of the Muniac Stream which was the nearest point from which to access their tracts of land. Here they found no log houses completed or even cleared land. Snow was deep in the woods and the lumbermens road to their lots was impassable due to the melting snow combined with the flooding Muniac Stream. Added frustration and danger was the lack of shelter and warmth not only for themselves but for the small children and the sick. Official reports of the Surgeon General shows that it was not until this time that officials in charge realized that through their carelessness many lives were in danger. By next morning the full gravity of the situation became apparent.
  The colonists had been brought across the ocean promised cleared land and log homes for which they had paid. None had been completed and the few under construction were deep in the forest. All the land had been lumbered during the winter with the good logs,(necessary for log homes), removed; and they were left with the cuttings and the brush clogging the Muniac Stream thus flooding the only available logging road to get to their land. The store to be built for their supplies supposed to have been arranged by their agents sent over in April had not been completed, nor were any supplies even available here at the community site.
  Their discouragement by the climactic conditions and failed arrangements was noted in the Surgeon Generals report" These people left Scotland 20 days before when grain had been sown and grass was growing. It was hard for them to believe that here in this cold forest land still deep in snow; that land could be cleared in time to harvest a crop this season".
  The settlers already living along the river bank hastened to do what they could to help. The Surveyor General obtained tents from the Militia for temporary shelter and engaged the services of a Doctor for a month. He did his best to hasten shipments of supplies from St.John. By their own energies the new arrivals accomplished much. Some of the unmarried and others unfit for working in the woods found employment in Woodstock,Fredericton, and St.John. Oliver Curless and Joseph Porter, two experienced woodsmen were engaged to teach the others how to go about clearing the land and preparing it for cropping. By June 1st some burnings had been made on the lots.
  Some of the more affluent settlers rented plots on existing farms and planted crops for food. Many others found work on nearby farms within the county. Most put good Scottish energy and determination into the work of clearing the land,starting their crops, and completing their houses. By the 16th of June all for whom there were houses or who had been able to construct some type of livable shelter were living upon their own land. Religious services were held in the homes of some on the Sabbath. In autumn the first school was opened in the new settlement of Kintore under the charge of Douglas Lawson a colonist who had qualified to teach under the new Free Schools Act. Two more schools were opened in the following spring as by that time the colonists were becoming  well established and on their way to development of the high standard of intelligence and ability for which in the years since they have been so highly respected in the province.
  Also worthy of note is that in the first autumn at Kintore an agricultural society was organized to assist all in the purchasing of seed, livestock, and farm implements. In Oct.of 1874, a few months beyond 1 year after settlement in the forest, this agricultural society held its first exhibition at which horses, cattle, sheep, swine, grains, and food were displayed. Their financial report showed a membership of more than one hundred, with business transactions of more than L700 and showing a credit balance at the end of the 1st year.
  The statistical report of the county in 1874 showed six hundred eighteen people living in one hundred thirteen houses with three hundred ninety three acres in crops. Sixteen horses, seventy six cows, sixteen oxen, nine sheep, together with sixteen swine were listed as owned in the community.