Grand Falls, New Brunswick
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Grand Falls Grand-Sault |
|||
|
|||
| Motto: cor unum (Latin for one heart) | |||
  Grand Falls
|
|||
| Coordinates: 47°02′04″N 67°44′22″W / 47.03444°N 67.73944°W | |||
| Country |  Canada |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Province |  New Brunswick |
||
| County | Victoria County | ||
| Founded | 1686 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Type | Town Council | ||
| - Mayor | Marcel Dechêne | ||
| - Deputy - Mayor | Rino Long | ||
| - Councillors | Jacques Lafrance, Arthelin Y. Rossignol, Michel (Rocky) Ouellette, Lee Chamberland, Denise Lagacé Rioux, Richard J. Keeley, Rino Long, Daniel Ouellette | ||
| Area | |||
| - Town | 18.06 km2 (7 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 160 m (525 ft) | ||
| Population (2006) | |||
| - Town | (est) 10,000 | ||
| - Density | 312.8/km2 (810.1/sq mi) | ||
| - Metro | 30,000+ | ||
| Time zone | Atlantic (AST) (UTC−4) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | ADT (UTC−3) | ||
| Canadian Postal code | E3Z | ||
| Area code(s) | 506 | ||
| Telephone Exchange | 473, 475, 477, 479, 481 | ||
| NTS Map | 021O04 | ||
| GNBC Code | DAICU | ||
| Website | http://www.grandfalls.com | ||
Grand Falls (French: Grand-Sault) (2006 population 5,650) is a Canadian town located in Victoria County and Madawaska County within New Brunswick.
Situated on the Saint John River, the town derives its name from a waterfall created by a series of rock ledges over which the river drops 23 metres.
Contents |
[edit] History
In 1686, Monsignor de Saint-Vallier (of Quebec) was the first known person to mention in writing the magnificent falls for which Grand Falls is named. His words describing the area can be found on a monument erected at the mouth of Davis Park in 1986. The first governor of New Brunswick, Thomas Carleton, established a military post in the area in 1791 known as Fort Carleton. The settlement was known as Colebrooke until 1890, when its name was changed to Grand Falls.
The greater-Grand Falls area has a population 30,000+, the largest and most populated municipality south to the city of Fredericton.
[edit] Economy
Three main industries reside in Grand Falls: potato farming, potato processing (The McCain frozen food plant) and tourism. The town is also a local service centre for Victoria County.
Tourism centers around the St. John River’s falls and gorge located in the center of town. Two tourist attractions line the river, the Malabeam information Centre and La Rochelle. The Malabeam Center faces the falls and is across the Grand Falls Farmers Market located on Madawaska Rd. La Rochelle provides camping sites, access to the gorge via stairwell and a pontoon-boat ride that goes through the gorge.
The falls are also home to the Grand Falls Generating Station which provides electrical power by use of a hydro electric dam completed in 1931 and provides 66 MW of electricity.[1]
Among the main retailers of Grand Falls as of April 2008, there are Alliance Assurance, Sears, Wal-Mart, Canadian Tire, Home Hardware, Dollarama, Atlantic Superstore, Staples Business Depot, Kent Building Supplies Shoppers Drug Mart, Hart, Jean Coutu and more.
[edit] Activities
Among the main activities located in Grand Falls, one can visit the Grand Falls Golf Course, the Grand Falls Marina, the Museum, the Farmer’s Market (summer), the Sports Complex which also includes bowling, numerous camp grounds, and the Grand Cinema 3. The town of Grand Falls will acquire a new arena named the E & P Sénéchal center. The multi-purpose 1300+ heated seat arena will open in late summer of 2009.
Most tourist-centric locations are only opened during the tourist season.
[edit] Education
- John Caldwell School K-12[2]
- Polyvalente Thomas-Albert High School[3]
- Élémentaire Sacré-Coeur
- École Marie-Immaculé
- Centre of Excellence in Agricultural and Biotechnological Sciences (CESAB)
[edit] Culture
Grand Falls is the most bilingual town in Canada at 81.5% speaking English and French and is only one of two municipalities in Canada with an official bilingual name, the other is Greater Sudbury. (fr: Grand-Sudbury)
It has been argued that this is the cause of the decline in population over the last 20 years. Many anglophone families have left the area, not being able to find work. They could not compete for good paying jobs due to their inability to speak French.
Every year the town celebrates its Regional Potato Festival. This event coincides with the end of June and beginning of July, during the Canada Day weekend. It includes a carnival, a Broadway block party, a bistro with live entertainment, the Miss Grand Falls Gala, fireworks and several other events.
[edit] References
- ^ "NB Power System Map". NB Power. 2005. http://generation.nbpower.com/en/systemmap/systemmap.aspx. Retrieved on June 29, 2006.
- ^ John Caldwell School
- ^ Polyvalente Thomas-Albert High School
[edit] External links
|
|||||||||||
