SAINT ANDREWS
While I was visiting Saint Andrews, New Brunswick last month I felt it could be known as "One of the Best Little Loyalist Towns In Canada'. It was mapped out at the close of the American Revolution when United Empire Loyalists arrived in Canada with a gridiron street plan designed for a British colonial town, settled by them, and has retained examples of their heritage. The present population is about 2,000 and has grown in recent years.
A plaque on the outside of the former Loyalist John Dunn home marking it as a Provincial Heritage Site indicates he was a prominent founder and leader in Saint Andrews, arriving from New York in 1784 and bringing materials for the town's first two-storey house. He served as Charlotte County's High Sheriff and Comptroller of Customs, contributing significantly to the town's prosperity. Dunn also donated land for the first Catholic Church in Saint Andrews and established a fund for the town's poor.
Street names remind you of the town's connection to the Loyalists, like Carleton Street , named after Sir Guy Carleton, who oversaw the evacuation of Loyalist refugees from New York at end of the American Revolution.
There is a United Empire Loyalist Cemetery in the town where the earliest gravestone is dated 1788. Reverend Samuel Andrews, born in Wallingford Township , Connecticutt in 1737 who became Church of England clergyman for Saint Andrews and died in 1818 is among the burials. Gravestones can also be viewed for Loyalists John Dunn and his wife Elizabeth. The land for the cemetery was originally given to the Church of England, however, persons of all denominations were buried there until other churches established cemeteries in thet town.
The families of the Loyalists who settled Saint Andrews remained loyal and at the beginning of the War of 1812 built a blockhouse to defend against American attack. It is a National Heritage Site open to visit during the summer. The blockhouse was one of three built by local residents and is Canada's last surviving one from the War.
Further Reading:
Dunn - McQuoid House , Canada's Historic Places
Loyalist Cemetery , St. Andrews, New Brunswick
St. Andrew's Blackhouse National Historic Site , St. Andrews, New Brunswick
