Heritage and culture
Edmundston is a major hub for regional business and services. It is the most densely populated city in the area. When the land was first being settled, Edmundston was called Petit-Sault. At one time, the P'tit-Sault blockhouse, located at the junction of the Saint John and Madawaska rivers, protected the territory from its enemies.
The P'tit-Sault blockhouse in Edmundston
The city was named after a former governor of New Brunswick, Sir Edmund Walker Head, who visited area in 1856. Before the arrival of the first colonists, the Indians called this place "Madoueskak", which means “the place of the porcupines”.
The logging industry played a major role in Edmundston's economic development. In 1917, the Fraser company (now under the name of Twin Rivers) built a pulp mill, then, in 1925, a paper mill in Madawaska, a sister city on the American side of the border in Maine. Huge pipelines link these two border communities, conveying enormous volumes of steam and pulp over a distance of 2 km. To learn more about our regional forest heritage history, you can visit the Knock on Wood website, Representing the forest at the heart of the Madawaskan social and cultural heritage in Acadie.
The log drive supplied wood for the mill.
Start your visit at the Madawaska Museum, exit 18, at Hébert Boulevard. You will be delighted by the art works exhibited at the Galerie Colline, and by the permanent exhibit of ancient objects depicting the history of Madawaska County. Only a few steps away, you can go shopping, eat out in our excellent restaurants or make use of the facilities at the Regional Sports Pavilion, where you can enjoy a swim in a semi-olympic pool, a good tennis game on the indoor courts , or even use our fantastic climbing wall. And don't miss our Jean-Daigle Centre for shows, hockey, skating and exhibitions.
If you look around, you will be able to see the buildings that make up the Edmundston campus of the University of Moncton as well as the Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick, campus d'Edmundston (CCNB), only a short distance away.
Obviously, any stay in Edmundston must include a trip to our picturesque downtown area. Historical information posts have been set up from place to place where you will find the history of the foundation and evolution of the city. The city offers a wide choice of areas where you can relax and enjoy the fresh air: City Hall Square, the promenade Emmerson, the pedestrian bridge, Place de l'Artisan, as well as the Fraser Marina and all the rest areas.
Fraser Marina in Edmundston
The marina is a stone's throw from downtown Edmundston
At City Hall on Canada Road, you can come and admire the astounding historical fresco entitled “Life in Madawaska 1785-1985” by internationally renowned artist Claude Picard. This work commemorates the bicentennial of the arrival of the first colonists in this region. And as you make your way up to see the fresco, take a look around the lobby, which always exhibits works from local artists.
The new look of the downtown area is also enhanced by the development of the vision project to revitalize the tourist potential and quality of life.
130 km of biking/walking trails belonging to the Petit-Témis Interprovincial Linear Park now link Edmundston to Rivière-du-Loup, in Québec. As you follow the winding trail along an abandoned railway track, every turn reveals new and wonderful panoramas. The Petit Témis bike path begins at the Fraser Marina on Victoria Street.
"Party du Parking" was held during the Foire Brayonne
Edmundston became an episcopal city on December 16th, 1944. In order to acknowledge the uniqueness of the people of Madawaska and address the pastoral needs of its population, Pope Pius XII created the Catholic Diocese of Edmundston and designated the church in the Parish of l'Immaculée-Conception to be the bishop's cathedral in this new diocese. While you are downtown, take time out to visit the majestic Immaculée-Conception Cathedral on de l'Église Street and admire its gothic and roman-style architecture.
For more information on the heritage of the City of Edmundston, you can contact our Arts and Culture Service. We also invite you to visit the Unravelling the Fresco Website which offers you an interactive multimedia painting of life in the lands and forests of Acadia.
