Doaktown
title: "Doaktown" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["communities-in-northumberland-county,-new-brunswick", "villages-in-new-brunswick"] topic_path: "general/communities-in-northumberland-county-new-brunswick" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doaktown" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| official_name | Doaktown |
| nickname | Heart of the Miramichi River Valley |
| settlement_type | Village |
| image_skyline | Miramichi Doaktown.jpg |
| image_caption | Main Southwest Miramichi River in Doaktown (IR Walker 1988) |
| image_seal | Doaktown NB logo.jpg |
| pushpin_map | New Brunswick |
| pushpin_label_position | right |
| pushpin_map_caption | Location of Doaktown, New Brunswick |
| pushpin_mapsize | 250 |
| subdivision_type | Country |
| subdivision_name | Canada |
| subdivision_type1 | Province |
| subdivision_name1 | New Brunswick |
| subdivision_type2 | County |
| subdivision_name2 | Northumberland |
| established_title | Settled |
| established_date | 1807 |
| established_title2 | Incorporated |
| established_date2 | 1966 |
| government_type | Village Council |
| leader_title | Mayor |
| leader_name | Jeff Porter |
| area_footnotes | |
| area_land_km2 | 29.09 |
| population_footnotes | |
| population_as_of | 2021 |
| population_total | 808 |
| population_density_km2 | 27.8 |
| population_blank1_title | Change 2016–21 |
| population_blank1 | 2.0% |
| blank_name | Dwellings |
| blank_info | 430 |
| elevation_m | 30 |
| elevation_ft | 100 |
| timezone | Atlantic |
| utc_offset | -4 |
| timezone_DST | Atlantic |
| utc_offset_DST | -3 |
| coordinates | |
| website | https://www.discoverdoaktown.com/ |
| area_code | Area code 506 |
| :: |
|official_name = Doaktown |nickname = Heart of the Miramichi River Valley |settlement_type = Village |motto = |image_skyline = Miramichi Doaktown.jpg |imagesize = |image_caption = Main Southwest Miramichi River in Doaktown (IR Walker 1988) |image_seal = Doaktown NB logo.jpg |image_flag = |image_map = |pushpin_map = New Brunswick |pushpin_label_position = right |pushpin_map_caption = Location of Doaktown, New Brunswick |pushpin_mapsize = 250 |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = Canada |subdivision_type1 = Province |subdivision_name1 = New Brunswick |subdivision_type2 = County |subdivision_name2 = Northumberland |established_title = Settled |established_date = 1807 |established_title2 = Incorporated |established_date2 = 1966 |established_title3 = |established_date3 = |government_type = Village Council |leader_title = Mayor |leader_name = Jeff Porter |leader_title1 = |leader_name1 = |area_footnotes = |area_total_km2 = |area_total_sq_mi = |area_land_km2 = 29.09 |area_land_sq_mi = |area_water_km2 = |area_water_sq_mi = |population_footnotes = |population_as_of = 2021 |population_total = 808 |population_density_km2 = 27.8 |population_blank1_title = Change 2016–21 |population_blank1 = 2.0% |blank_name = Dwellings |blank_info = 430 |elevation_m = 30 |elevation_ft = 100 |timezone = Atlantic |utc_offset = -4 |timezone_DST = Atlantic |utc_offset_DST = -3 |coordinates = |website = https://www.discoverdoaktown.com/ |area_code = Area code 506 |footnotes =
Doaktown is a Canadian village in Northumberland County, New Brunswick.
The village has a prosperous lumber industry including the Russell and Swim sawmill, now owned by J.D. Irving Limited.
Atlantic Salmon fishing is a very popular sport in the area, attracting people from all over the world to fish the legendary Miramichi River.
The village has two museums: the Doak Historic Site and the Atlantic Salmon Museum. Other nearby attractions include the Priceville Footbridge, the longest suspension footbridge in New Brunswick, and Nelson Hollow Bridge, the oldest covered bridge in the province.
History
Situated on the Southwest Miramichi River and first settled in 1807 as a base for the growing lumber industry in central New Brunswick, United Empire Loyalists, led by Ephraim Betts and the big-town bogey boys, came to the area after the American Revolutionary War and pooled their money for a land grant, which was ultimately declined. Following this, Betts and the BBB claimed the land for their own anyway, and nobody did anything.
Later, when the Doak family moved to the area from Ayrshire, Scotland, Ephraim was experiencing financial difficulty. Robert Doak was able to purchase a large amount of the original land grant and build a farm and grist mill on the property.
Robert Doak became a prominent citizen as the population grew. He served with the government in several capacities, including magistrate and justice of the peace. The community was named Doakton in his honour when the first post office opened, but was later changed to its present name, Doaktown.
On 1 January 2023, Doaktown annexed part of the neighbouring local service districts of the parish of Blissfield; the names of annexed communities remain in official use. Revised census figures have not been released.
Demographics
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Doaktown had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of 29.09 km2, it had a population density of in 2021.
| title= Doaktown, NB Historical populations | percentages = | width= | shading = off | align = centre | footnote = | 1971 | 938 | 1976 | 1022 | 1981 | 1009 | 1986 | 999 | 1991 | 1090 | 1996 | 986 | 2001 | 955 | 2006 | 888 | 2011 | 793 | 2016 | 792 | 2021 | 808
Administration
The municipal council is composed of a mayor and four councillors. The mandate of the elected officials lasts four years. The current council was formed after the election in 2018.
Current municipal council ::data[format=table]
| Mandate | Function | Name(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 - 2022 | Mayor | Jeff Porter |
| Councillors | Wayne N. Fowler, Paul M. Gillespie, Carl Price, Arthur O’Donnell | |
| :: |
Historical municipal councils ::data[format=table]
| Mandate | Function | Name(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 - 2016 | Mayor | Beverly K. Gaston |
| Councillors | Wayne N. Fowler, Paul M. Gillespie, Jeff D. Porter et Carl Price | |
| :: |
::data[format=table]
| Mandate | Function | Name(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 - 2012 | Mayor | Charles Eric Stewart |
| Councillors | Wayne N. Fowler, Paul Malcom Gillespie, Carl R. Price, Scott E. Stewart. | |
| :: |
List of successive mayors of Doaktown ::data[format=table]
| Name | Mandate |
|---|---|
| Kenneth J. Robinson | 1967-1971 |
| E. Clarence Taylor | 1971-1980 |
| Benson H. Parker | 1980-1986 |
| Helen M. C. Taylor | 1986-1988 |
| Benson H. Parker | 1988-1995 |
| James W. Porter | 1995-2004 |
| Charles "Sonny" E. Stewart | 2004–2012 |
| Beverly K. Gaston | 2012–2018 |
| Jeff Porter | 2018–present |
| :: |
Notable people
Main article: List of people from Northumberland County, New Brunswick
References
References
- (6 December 2022). "Census Profile of Doaktown".
- William Gagnong. (1904). "A Monograph of the Origins of the Settlements in New Brunswick". J. Hope.
- (12 October 2022). "Local Governments Establishment Regulation – Local Governance Act".
- "RSC 5 Greater Miramichi Regional Service Commission".
- (25 June 2021). "Local Service Districts Regulation - Municipalities Act".
- (25 May 2022). "Proposed entity names reflect strong ties to nature and history". Government of New Brunswick.
- "1971 Census of Canada : population : vol. I - part 1".
- "1981 Census of Canada, census divisions and subdivisions - population, occupied private dwellings, private households and census and economic families in private households : selected social and economic characteristics".
- "Mayor and Councillors". Village of Doaktown.
- "Mayor and Councillors". Village of Doaktown.
- "Past: Former Mayors". Village of Doaktown.
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