Introducing Miramichi City
The city of Miramichi is an amalgam of Chatham and Newcastle and the villages of Douglastown, Loggieville, Nelson and several others along a 12km stretch of the Miramichi River near its mouth. Miramichi City, with its Irish background, is an English-speaking enclave in the middle of a predominantly French-speaking region. The tourist information centre (506-623-2152; Jun-Aug) is downtown at Ritchie’s Wharf, a riverfront boardwalk park with playgrounds, eateries and a lighthouse.
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Though surrounded by two paper mills and sawmills, central Newcastle is pleasant. In the central square is a statue to Lord Beaverbrook (1879–1964), one of the most powerful press barons in British history and a major benefactor of his home province. His ashes lie under the statue presented as a memorial to him by the town. Beaverbrook’s boyhood home Beaverbrook House (506-624-5474; 518 King George Hwy; admission free; 9am-5pm Mon-Fri, 10am-5pm Sat, 1-5pm Sun mid-Jun–Aug), (built 1879) is now a museum.
Miramichi City is a mill town, not a tourist center, but traditional folk music enthusiasts might want to pay a visit for the Irish Festival (www.canadasirishfest.com; mid-Jul) and the Miramichi Folksong Festival (www.miramichifolksongfestival.com; early Aug) the oldest of its kind in North America.
Last updated: Feb 17, 2009
