Eel River Crossing, New Brunswick

"Eel River, New Brunswick" redirects here. For the First Nation, see Eel River Bar First Nation.

Eel River Crossing is a former village in Restigouche County, New Brunswick, Canada.^[2] It held village status prior to 2023 and is now part of the village of Bois-Joli.

Eel River Crossing
Seal
Eel River Crossing Location within New Brunswick.
Coordinates: 48.0125°N 66.420833°W / 48.0125; -66.420833
Country	Canada
Province	New Brunswick
County	Restigouche
Parish	Dalhousie
Municipality	Bois-Joli
Founded	1875
Incorporated	November 9, 1966
Electoral Districts    Federal	Madawaska—Restigouche
Provincial	Dalhousie-Restigouche East
Area [1]
• Land	65.26 km2 (25.20 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[1]
• Total	1,844
• Density	28.3/km2 (73/sq mi)
• Change 2016–21	5.6%
• Dwellings	887
Time zone	UTC-4 (AST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-3 (ADT)
Postal code(s)	E8E 1N5-1N9, 1P1-1P9, 1R1-1R9 1S1-1S9, 1T1-1T9, 1V1-1V5 2L7, 2W9
Area code	506
Highways Route 11	Route 275 Route 280
Median Income*	$42,411 CDN
Website	http://www.ercvillage.com/
Median household income, 2005 (all households)

History

See also: History of New Brunswick and List of historic places in Restigouche County, New Brunswick

Its name usually being simplified to Eel River, the village is situated on the river of that name. The word "Crossing" was added to the name after the Intercolonial Railway built its Halifax-Rivière-du-Loup main line through the community in 1875. Since 1972, a high-voltage converter station, the Eel River Converter Station, is located in Eel River Crossing. ^[3]

Eel River (Chaleur Bay) – A descriptive derived from the French designation Anguille. Anse a l'Anguille changed to Eel River Cove by petition on October 14, 1950.^[4]

In Mi'kmaq, Eel River was known as Okpĕgŭnchĭk which meant "discoloured foam on the water".^[5]

Following an amalgamation with surrounding areas in 2015, the village branded itself Eel River Dundee in 2018^[6] but the legal name remained Eel River Crossing.

On 1 January 2023, Eel River Crossing amalgamated with the village of Balmoral and all or part of five local service districts to form the new village of Bois-Joli.^[7][8] The community's name remains in official use.^[9]

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Eel River Crossing had a population of 1,844 living in 839 of its 887 total private dwellings, a change of -5.6% from its 2016 population of 1,953. With a land area of 65.26 km² (25.20 sq mi), it had a population density of 28.3/km² (73.2/sq mi) in 2021.^[1]

In the same census, the designated place portion of Eel River Crossing had a population of 1,082 living in 504 of its 531 total private dwellings, a change of -6.5% from its 2016 population of 1,157. With a land area of 18.92 km² (7.31 sq mi), it had a population density of 57.2/km² (148.1/sq mi) in 2021.^[10]

Population trend[11][12][13] Census Population Change (%) 2016 1,953 3.9% 2011 revised 2,032 40.5% 2011 1,209 3.5% 2006 1,168 12.5% 2001 1,335 7.7% 1996 1,446 1.4% 1991 1,467 N/A 2011 population revised due to boundary changes.

Mother tongue (2016)[13] Language Population Pct (%) French only 1,575 81.8% English only 310 16.1% Both English and French 30 1.6% Other languages 10 0.5%

Notable people

Main article: List of people from Restigouche County, New Brunswick

See also

• List of communities in New Brunswick