Restigouche River - History

History

The name Restigouche is thought to be derived from the Mi'kmaq word Listuguj (meaning "Five Fingers").

Home to the Mi'kmaq Nation for centuries, the Restigouche watershed is a land of many mountains and unspoiled vistas, as well as significant timber resources. French settlers established several communities on its banks during the 17th and 18th centuries but the area remained largely void of European settlement until the decades following the French and Indian War. The Battle of Restigouche was a naval action between British and French forces which was fought on the river in 1760 during the latter stages of the war. Those French vessels were to supply Quebec with supplies and ammunition following the loss of the battle of the Plains of Abraham, but since the ships never made it, the city never had a chance to be retaken.

The establishment of the colony of New Brunswick for United Empire Loyalists refugees following the American Revolutionary War saw modest influx of several families to the area but the most significant impact came from Scottish settlers following the Highland Clearances. Many Scottish families found work in the infancy of the timber industry and were at the forefront of industrialization of the forests throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. The Restigouche River and its tributaries became a highway for log drives, bringing timber to the dozens of sawmills at Campbellton and Dalhousie. Further industrialization saw pulp and paper mills established in those communities by the 1930s to take advantage of the Restigouche watershed's timber resources.