Sussex, New Brunswick
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Sussex | |
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| Nickname: Cow Town | |
| Motto: Gateway to the Fundy Experience | |
  Sussex
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| Coordinates: | |
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| Country | Canada |
| Province | New Brunswick |
| County | Kings County |
| Incorporated | January 1903 |
| Government | |
| - Type | Town Council |
| - Mayor | Ralph Carr |
| - Deputy Mayor | Marc Thorne |
| - Councillors | Thimothy Wilson, Kevin D. Black , Shelley Bradley , Gary Fulton, Mark Wright |
| - CAO | Michael Cummings |
| Area | |
| - Total | 9.03 km² (3.5 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 18 to 124 m (59 to 406.8 ft) |
| Population (2006)[1] | |
| - Total | 4,241 |
| - Density | 469.5/km² (1,216/sq mi) |
| Time zone | Atlantic (AST) (UTC-4) |
| - Summer (DST) | ADT (UTC-3) |
| Canadian Postal code | E4E |
| Area code(s) | 506 |
| Telephone Exchange | 432, 433 |
| NTS Map | 021H12 |
| GNBC Code | DASFF |
| Website: http://www.sussex.ca | |
Sussex (2006 population: 4,241) is a Canadian town in Kings County, New Brunswick.
Sussex straddles the Kennebecasis River, 70 km northeast of Saint John. Sussex is the home to CJCW 590 AM which is the town's community radio station.
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[edit] History
In 1857 the European and North American Railway was opened, connecting the farming communities of the Kennebecasis River valley with Saint John and Moncton. Sussex was incorporated in 1895 but was only officially established as a town on April 30, 1904. The settlers were for the most part British Loyalists who had fled the American Revolution in 1776, with many Irish refugees of the potato famine from the mid-1800s settling in the nearby farming communities.
In 1885 the Sussex Military Camp was established on the eastern edge of the town. The facility was closed following the Second World War and the town purchased the land to expand the municipal boundaries. Today the agricultural exhibition and some areas remain as open land on the former site of Camp Sussex.
Sussex underwent several changes in the post-war period. In the early 1960s, several local roads were upgraded as part of the Trans-Canada Highway project which saw Route 2 pass immediately north of the town between Fredericton and Moncton. At the same time, a series of local roads in the Kennebecasis River valley were designated as Route 1, running from an interchange with the Trans-Canada at Sussex, southwest to Saint John.
The creation of Sussex as a highway interchange in this post-war period led to some transportation planners in New Brunswick calling for the consolidation or closure of the Fredericton, Saint John, and Moncton airports to be replaced by a single airport located in Sussex to serve all three population centres of southern New Brunswick; this being in the late 1950s/early 1960s before these facilities underwent considerable expansion.
Potash was subsequently discovered in large quantities in the area surrounding Sussex, with the deposit being the second largest in the world after an area in Saskatchewan. Two mines were built near the town, one at Penobsquis 8 km east, and another at Cassidy Lake (No longer operational), 10 km southwest. CN Rail built trackage to serve both mines, which employed hundreds from the surrounding area.
Sussex also began to see a growing tourism trade, with many flocking to see the collection of wood-constructed covered bridges throughout the central area of Kings County. In addition, an annual agricultural fair drew visitors, as well as the establishment of southern New Brunswick's only alpine ski hill in the Caledonia Mountains southeast of the town at Poley Mountain. Very many large murals have been painted. There is also a very popular annual hot air balloon festival in Sussex held every September, and a huge flea market every summer.
The town entered economic difficulty during the late 1990s after the Cassidy Lake potash mine flooded, resulting in hundreds of lay-offs. Another less significant blow came in October 2002 with a realignment of the Trans-Canada Highway (Route 2) between Fredericton and Moncton which no longer passed through Sussex, instead carrying the province's east-west interprovincial traffic 30 km north of the town. At the same time, Route 1 was extended east on the old Trans-Canada alignment to an interchange at River Glade near Petitcodiac and Route 10 was extended on the old Trans-Canada from an interchange with the new Route 2 alignment at Young's Cove Road south to Sussex.
Today, Sussex is primarily a regional service centre for the surrounding agricultural communities of the upper Kennebecasis River valley, as well as a highway service centre on Route 1, the primary highway between Moncton and Saint John, as well as being the most heavily travelled route in the Maritimes to the United States. Sussex is also home to Bethany Bible College, the only college in Canada owned by the Wesleyan Church.
[edit] The Atlantic Balloon Fiesta
The largest hot air balloon festival in Atlantic Canada is held each summer in Sussex. That weekend Sussex is host to up to 30,000 visitors. It is not just hot air balloons that bring these people to Sussex; there is something for everyone at the festival, including a giant craft fair. The Fiesta will be held September 6th - 7th, 2008. [2]
[edit] Demographics
Most people in Sussex have some Scottish, French, English, or Irish ancestry. There are smaller groups of German and Dutch lineage, and very few Mi'kmaq, East Europeans, Asians, and African-Canadians. The town is almost universally anglophone, being in the heart of English-speaking southern New Brunswick.
[edit] Trivia
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The town is home to Sussex Golden Ginger Ale, and at one point it claimed to be the birthplace of the ice cream cone. The Kings County Record recently proved this claim to be false. Sussex titles itself as the Dairy Capital of New Brunswick.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited the town as part of her Golden Jubilee tour of Canada. On October 12, 2002, she attended the opening of a new wing of Sussex Elementary School, unveiling a commemorative plaque at the event. She then visited Princess Louise Park for an agricultural exhibition. While there, it was announced that the community hall would be renamed Jubilee Hall in her honour. Both appearances drew thousands of visitors from Sussex and beyond.[3]
Sussex has one of the few remaining drive-in theatres in the Maritimes.
[edit] References
- ^ Statistics Canada. (2006) Sussex Community Profile
- ^ http://www.townofsussex.com/Specialactivities.cfm
- ^ Government of New Brunswick. IGA
[edit] External links
- Town website
- New Brunswick Covered Bridges
- Local stories
- Bethany Bible College
- Annual Kennebecasis River Canoe Club
- Area Information and Links
- Atlantic Balloon Fiesta
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