SAINT STEPHEN

town, Charlotte county, southwestern New Brunswick, Canada, on the St. Croix River at the head of navigation, 71 miles (114 km) west of St. John. St. Stephen is linked by the international Ferry Point Bridge with Calais, Maine, U.S., to which it supplies fresh water from a well at Maxwell's Crossing. The two communities have long cooperated in matters of fire protection, public utilities, and observance of national holidays. The Duncan McColl United Church, Saint Stephen's chief landmark, is named for a Methodist minister who is credited with keeping peace between the two communities during the War of 1812. The principal settlement (1783) was by United Empire Loyalists. The town of St. Stephen (earlier called Scoodic, Morristown, and Dover Hill) took its name from St. Stephen Parish, which was established in 1786 and supposedly named for Stephen Pendleton, a surveyor, but facetiously changed to conform with neighbouring parishes that were named after saints. In 1973 Milltown amalgamated with St. Stephen to form a single town. Once an important builder of wooden ships, the community now has a lumber and mixed-farming economy. Inc. 1871. Pop. (1991) 4,931.