Van Buren

Located across the St. John River from St. Leonard, New Brunswick, the town is at the junction of U.S. Routes 1 and 1A. See photos. Its economic development message is “Gateway to the St. John Valley.” Named for the eighth U.S. President, Martin Van Buren, the area was a haven for Acadians escaping the British oppression of 1755. In 1791 they settled near Keegan, a village just north of the main settlement. A model “Acadian Village” is near Keegan village.

Acadia Acadian

Acadian Museum and Madawaska Historical Society (2003)

Originally a French colony, Acadian lands in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia were passed back and forth between the French and English by various treaties settling European wars. The last of these, the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, gave the land to England. For a time the Acadians lived peacefully with the English. In…