Elm Hill, New Brunswick

Elm Hill is a community in Hampstead Parish, New Brunswick, Canada. It is significant as the last surviving Black Canadian community in New Brunswick.[1]

Elm Hill
Unincorporated community
Elm Hill entrance sign in September, 2018
Elm Hill Location of Elm Hill in New Brunswick
Coordinates: 45.62°N 66.08°W
Country	Canada
Province	New Brunswick
County	Queens
Parish	Hampstead
Population  (2016)
• Total	25
Time zone	UTC-4 (AST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-3 (ADT)
Area code(s)	506

History

Historical populations

Year	Pop.	±%
1871	100	—
1901	131	+31.0%
1921	111	−15.3%
1931	110	−0.9%
1951	65	−40.9%
1961	75	+15.4%
1991	35	−53.3%
2001	30	−14.3%
2011	30	+0.0%
2016	25	−16.7%
Source: Statistics Canada[Note 1]

Elm Hill was established by black Loyalists from Virginia in 1806, as one of Canada's earliest black communities. Throughout the 1800s, the community enjoyed a period of relative prosperity, as its remoteness allowed the residents to develop their economy free from outside interference.[2] Located on the St. John River between Saint John and Fredericton, Elm Hill functioned well while the steamers plied the river, stopping there to transport people and products. Once the railroad replaced the river as the highway, however, the community's isolation worked against it.[3] Elm Hill had been a self-sufficient farming community until the 1960s, when many area residents moved to urban areas for better opportunities. Those remaining were not able to keep up the farms, and decline set in. Elm Hill once supported a post office, a store, two churches (Pentecostal and Baptist), and a school although those are all now closed.[4]

As of the 2016 census, the area is still home to 25 residents, many involved in small-scale farming operations or employed in government jobs.[5]

The community was previously known as Otnabog (1854–1893), Upper Otnabog (1876–1911), and Pleasant Villa (1911–1933), before the name was changed back to Elm Hill.[6]

See also

• List of communities in New Brunswick
• Black Nova Scotians
• Black Loyalists

References

1. Hodges, Graham Russell (1996). The Black Loyalist Directory. New York: Garland Publishing Inc.
2. Rickards, Sue (February 2010). "Social Economy Stories" (PDF). Retrieved 25 February 2019. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
3. "Practicing Social Activism | Women Social Activists of Atlantic Canada". womenactivists.lib.unb.ca. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
4. Spray, William (1972). The Blacks in New Brunswick. Brunswick Press. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
5. "Statistics Canada Community Profiles". statscan.gc.ca. Statistics Canada. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
6. "Provincial Archives of New Brunswick". archives.gnb.ca.

1. Statistics Canada and Housing New Brunswick studies of the area.