New Beginnings in New Brunswick’s Scotch Colony

The New Brunswick had agreed to provide support for the establishment of  a community of Scotch colonists in 1873-1874. The people were recruited from one area of Scotland so that they would share a common culture and be more likely to be supportive of each other in their new lives in Canada. Not everything was as expected upon their arrival which forced the new settlers to fend for themselves. The promised log cabins were not ready and the roads had not been made. Every available building from mills to sheds as well as tents were used for shelter until the log homes could be completed. The men from Scotland had to pitch in to labor on the roads in order to be able to get to their own lots. Snow late in the spring, mud, and a series of miscommunications did not prevent the Colonists from persevering. Religion was a strong component of the community as it developed.