2019 New Brunswick - part 5, Marysville: "Boss" Gibson - a man who changed his world - Travel With Us

In our travel brochure for the Fredericton area, we saw a driving tour that highlighted Boss Gibson’s Marysville, one of Canada’s best preserved examples of a 19th century mill town. So of course we had to go visit. We easily found the mill that now houses Government of New Brunswick offices. Nowhere could we find a building with information on the town, so we started out on our own self-driving tour!

A brick cotton mill dominates the town and its streets are lined with rows of brick workers’ tenements, elegant managers’ homes, stores, and churches. Here we can envision what the 19th century industrial and social structures must have looked like. What began as a modest sawmill village on the Nashwaak River became a booming, prosperous town through the genius and foresight of Alexander “Boss” Gibson who bought up land and created this town.

Gibson built this cotton mill between 1883 and 1885 to meet the day’s fire insurance standards. This 4-stroy building features brick pier construction, a central water tower, and fire-retardant materials on the interior—standard features for cotton mills of the day.

By 1900, Marysville was among the largest mills in Canada. The mill was state-of-the-art for its time, incorporating not only electric lighting, but also all those features characteristic of plants whose power was provided from a central plant and distributed by belts, pulleys,and overhead shafting to machinery whose location within the complex was dictated by its place within the production framework.

The cotton mill operated profitably well into the 1940s, and employed most of the town’s population. But by the end of the war, foreign competition forced the mill to close in the 1970s.

workers homes

Workers’ homes were built out of brick and for the most part 2-story duplexes. I haven’t found the total count of the buildings, but here’s what they looked like.

This view of workers’ homes show the mill in the background—the tallest building around.

sports

Baseball was enjoyed by the workers. From its first recorded win in 1895 to present day players signing professional contracts, Marysville has had a love affair with baseball. In 1911 a rail fence was built to keep the players in and the cows out. In 1920, Canadian Cottons brought in an athletic director who upgraded the field and built a running track around the field.

In 1934, the Royals field was resurfaced with clay from the old brickyard to make it one of the finest fields in the province.

business buildings around town

Built in 1863, the first floor was a general store and the second floor was Gibson’s office overlooking his mills. The third floor was used for meetings, religious services, and entertainment for the people in the town. The building was renovated in 2000.

Built in 1886 in the textile town design, the original layout had living quarters for the manager in the left rear, and a kitchen and dining room on the right. The 2 upper floors had rooms for 12 borders. Later it was changed to a boarding house for single or widowed women.

Gibson really wanted his workers to be able to hear the word of God, so he donated land for churches and paid the salaries for the clergy. He built a school close by that we didn’t see.

managers’ homes

Beautiful homes for the managers were built across the river and down a block—probably to save them from the smell and noise of the mill. Many of the homes are still being used and are well kept.

While this home is on the street with the managers’ homes, it does have double entry doors. Either it has been remodeled or it was for 2 entry-level managers who had smaller residences.

This beautiful building is across the street from the mill. Don’t know what it was used for at the turn of the century, but today it houses a Christian school.

who was Boss Gibson?

Here are some signs that tell us about Mr. Gibson and his goals for the city he built. He had already made his fortune before starting this cotton mill community and offering jobs to hundreds of people. He also ran a grist and flour mill, as well as sawmills. The town was named for his wife, Mary.