MADAWASKA COUNTY

Petit Sault Blockhouse 1841 Edmundston

The location of the border between New Brunswick and Maine in the Madawaska Region was a subject of a heated dispute during the 1830s, resulting in an event called the Aroostook War. With aim of controlling the strategic junction of the Madawaska and St John Rivers, the British military received permission in 1841 to build a blockhouse at the Petit-Sault. It perched on a rock overlooking both rivers and consisted three floors, the first made of stone and the other two of stout logs, enclosed by a palisade, and with sufficient accommodation for one officer and 50 men. It was destroyed by lightning in August 1855. An accurate reconstruction of the blockhouse on the original site as opened to the public in 2001. It is a provincial historic site marked by a plaque.

Plaque in Anglican Church
Edmundston

To two brothers killed in Ortona, Italy in the Second World War

N0 71 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre
Edmunston

A Military District No 7 training facility, opened as a NPAM Training Centre on October 9^th, 1940, then as a basic training centre on February 15^th, 1941 and finally as a basic infantry training centre on November 1943. A Military District was responsible for the administration and training of all non-operational units in its district.

Avro Lancaster Mk 10P (AR) KB882 Municipal Airport,
Edmunston

Located at the Edmundston municipal airport is a Second World War Lancaster bomber, a national aviation treasure. It is one of 430 Mark “X” models of the Avro Lancaster built in Canada by Victory Aircraft in Malton, Ontario, and one of 7,377 produced during the Second World War. This bomber arrived in the United Kingdom on 4 March 1945 and became part of the Royal Air Force’s No. 428 (Ghost) Squadron of the 6th Bomber Group. Although part of the RAF, No. 428 was a Canadian manned squadron. Its first operational mission occurred over Dortmund on 12 March 1945, with Fight Lieutenant W. L. Ross the pilot. KB882 flew a total of eleven operational missions before the war ended.

After the war Lancaster KB882 was flown back to Canada and turned over to the RCAF where eventually it saw service with No. 408 Squadron. During this period it was employed in Arctic reconnaissance and on various Cold War missions. When Lancasters where replaced, the City of Edmundston purchased KB882. On 14 June 1964, it flew its final fly past and landed at the municipal airport, where it remains today, one of only seventeen Lancasters known to exist. A project is underway to raise a million dollars to restore the aircraft and construct a hanger. For more information see: www.lancasterkb882.com.

1RNBR Armoury
Edmunston