Historic Bathurst on the Bay of Chaleur

Richard Wilbur is the author of The Rise of French New Brunswick and the
co-author of Silver Harvest: The Fundy Weirmen’s Story.

Newspaper editor A.J. McCarthy has produced a lively and fairly
extensive history of a town whose story goes back 300 years. His
account, which is built around many excellent photographs that probably
first appeared in the local press, concentrates on the years 1920–50,
although the photos are updated with captions describing the present-day
circumstances of a building or street scene. Topics like transportation
are covered through photos such as the one showing Rev. A.J. Allard, the
founder of Allardville, in front of an early version of a snowmobile (a
1928 Buick with Caterpillar tracks and skis attached). The book’s
longest and arguably most informative section deals with the town’s
bridges and buildings. McCarthy has succeeded admirably in capturing
Bathurst’s varied past.