As I sit at my desk in the Old Post Office, on Historic Water Street, I can see the ice on the river is beginning to release its wintry grip on the ‘Miramichi’.  I sit and wonder what Mr. Francis Peabody was thinking about over two centuries ago when he first arrived at the very spot outside my window - Waterford Green. Did he come here as a businessman, adventurer or a tourist?  Was it just the huge potential of the forest, the open spaces, and the wide river that made him stop? Or was it also the sheer beauty of the area, so different and inspiring from his native Massachusetts that convinced him to stay?  One thing we know of sure is that he did stop, got out of his boat and tied it to a spruce tree. It is said that he named the place “The Spruce”, today’s Waterford Green.  Shortly afterwards in 1814, Francis Peabody created the Parish of Chatham in honour of William Pitt, the Earl of Chatham, a supporter of the American cause during the time of the Revolution.

As I mentioned in my previous article, Waterford Green is part of the Ecomuseum. In fact, it is scheduled to receive a major overhaul this year; a park, a bandstand, docking facilities, etc. Part of this project includes a podium for a statue, to be erected this summer at the waters’ edge. Members of Historic Water Street and the Ecomuseum wish to honour Mr. Francis Peabody – “Father of the Settlement”. We would like to receive any and all ideas residents of Miramichi have as to the look of the statue they wish to see in Waterford Green.  We encourage you to come down to Historic Water Street, walk around, relax and get a feel of the location.  Walk over to the rivers’ edge around Waterford Green and envision what it must have been like to see it for the first time for Francis Peabody back in 1800.

We eagerly await your ideas.

Also, at this time I would like to announce that Pamela Foley has been hired as the Administrative Assistant for the Ecomuseum.  She will be working out of our Water Street office and will be there to take your questions and comments.  The Chair, members of the Board and me are glad to have her and her experience part of the Ecomuseum and we all wish her “the very best!”