Мемрамкук: Колыбель Акадии и земля Ми’кмаков

Memramcook, sometimes also spelled Memramcouke or Memramkouke, is a village in Westmorland County, New Brunswick, Canada. Located in south eastern New Brunswick, the community is predominantly people of Acadian descent who speak the Chiac derivative of the French language. An agricultural village, it has a strong local patrimony, key to the history of the region. It was home to Mi'kmaqs for many years and was the arrival site of Acadians in 1700. A large part of these Acadians were deported in 1755, but the village itself survived. The Collège Saint Joseph was the first francophone university in the east of Canada, which opened its doors in 1864 and hosted/organized the first National Acadian Convention in 1881.

Memramcook was called the "Berceau de l'Acadie", which translates to "cradle of Acadia". Long inhabited by the Mi'kmaq, the site saw the arrival of their allies, the Acadians in 1700. It now goes by the slogan of "Notre belle vallée", since the recent re branding of the village in May 2015. The village name is originally Mi'kmaq and means "variegated" referring to the many intricacies of the Memramcook River. The first mention of the area used the spelling Mémérancouque in 1757. The missionaries turned it into Memerancook, Memerancooque (1757), Memeramcook (1803), Memramkook (1812), Mamramcook (1812) and finally Memramcook. There have been several recent controversies about the name, such as people who offer the spelling Memramcouk or Memramkouke.

Mi'kmaq people were already established in the region for a couple hundred years before the Acadians arrived. Their main village and cemetery seemed to be in Beaumont, and they also had a camp at what is now today Saint Joseph. Beaumont was a strategic location, giving that it allowed them to control the Petitcodiac River, the most important marine transport route in the region. Knockout, Bernard, Skéouite, Toudoi, Argémiche, Thomas and others were the common family names at the time. Samuel de Champlain and Jean de Poutrincourt explored the region in 1605. They noted a rocky point (the Beaumont point) and no human presence. In 1612, Father Biard, Charles de Biencourt and their four Native American guides returned to visit Memramcook. At that time, there were about 60–80 cabins. In 1672, Acadian and European word runners and fishers started to frequent the area and some stayed to establish themselves. The village became a part of domain of La Vallière (Beaubassin) in 1676. In 1698, Pierre Thibaudeau, Guillaume Blanchard, Pierre Gaudet and a few others left Port Royal to explore Trois Rivières. Pierre Gaudet, the youngest of the group, decided to stay in Memramcook. The village developed much more quickly after the signing of the Utrecht Treaty, which gave Acadia to England in 1713. Many families from Port Royal moved to Memramcook at this time as it was still French territory. Hamlets that would be later known as Pierre à Michel and Beaumont were founded in 1740. The Fort de La Galissoniére was constructed in 1751. Its job was to defend the entire isthmus of Chignecto, but was later replaced by Fort Beauséjour. Residents were also starting to construct the famous dyke system to dry out the marshes for agriculture. In 1752, the village was composed of 250 people from 51 different families. There were the Blanchards, Richards, Lanoues, Dupuis, Benoîts, Landrys, LeBlancs, Aucoins, Maillets, Girouards, Forests, Daigles, Savoies, Robichaud, Bastaraches, Heberts, Deslauriers, Cyrs, Bourques and Thibodeaus. People lived mostly along the river, and the first chapel was built in 1753 at Pointe aux Bouleaux, which is Ruisseau des Breau today.

In August 1755, English soldiers were sent to Beaubassin, Petitcodiac, Chipoudy, and Memramcook to take the Acadiens prisoners. However, through guidance by the local missionary, Father LeGuerne, and the local people of the Miꞌkmaq nation, the Acadians hid in the woods. Then, on August 26, Lieutenant Boishébert of Miramichi and 125 soldiers and a group of Miꞌkmaq, surprised 200 Englishmen, under the command of Major Joseph Frye. The English had set fire to the church of Chipoudy and 181 homes, as well as 250 houses in Petitcodiac. Boishébert gave the order to attack at the moment that the English were setting fire to the church of Petitcodiac. After three hours of fierce fighting, the English retreated, leaving behind 50 dead, and around 60 wounded. It was thus that 200 families were able to escape the deportation.

Memramcook is situated 20 km south east of Moncton, in the Trois Rivières region. The village has an area of 187.67 km2. The most western part of the village is composed of the Grandes Buttes hill. This region, also called "Pointe" borders on the west by the Petitcodiac river. It is composed of a plateau and a few hills, with the principal hill being Beaumont at 160m. The Grandes Buttes finish on the peninsula, so their extremity is the Beaumont point, or Fort Folly. To the east of the Grandes Buttes is the Valley of Memramcook, where the principal buildings are located. Even more to the east are the Aboujagne Woods and the Coppermine hill. Memramcook is the border between Dieppe and Grand Brûlis du Lac in the North and Sackville to the east. The Dorchester parish borders Memramcook to the south, and is composed of the south east point where you can find the hamlet of Village des Taylors. This municipality also has an enclave in north east Memramcook. Memramcook Village is part of Acadia.

The village has two hydrographic basins. In the Petitcodiac River, Steeve's, McFarlane's, Downing, Boyd, Upper, Belliveau and Boudreau creeks empty. Stoney, Smith, LeBlanc and Breault flow into the Memramcook River. The two major rivers meet at the Beaumont point. The village is home to two important lakes, Le Lac and Folly Lake Le Lac (Memramcook) is situated in the south east part of the village and is 500m long, where as Folly Lake is in the north west and measures about 800m by 270m. There are also numerous marsh areas in Memramcook, mostly on the river banks, in the north of the village and a few along the Petitcodiac river.

Climate of Memramcook Temperatures Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec AverageRecord Maximum (°C) 16 15 19 28 34 34 36 37 33 26 23 18 Daily High (°C) −4 −3 2 8 16 21 24 24 19 12 6 −1 10.4Daily Mean (°C) −9 −8 −3 3 10 15 19 18 13 7 1 −6 5.1Daily Low (°C) −14 −13 −8 −2 4 9 13 12 7 2 −3 −10 −0.3Record Minimum (°C) −32 −32 −27 −16 −6 −2 1 1 −3 −1 −17 −29 Precipitation and Sunshine Hours Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec TotalTotal mm 109 81 103 90 99 94 100 76 92 100 97 106 1144Rain (mm) 42 28 42 58 93 94 100 76 92 96 77 52 849Snowfall (cm) 67 53 61 32 5 0 0 0 0 4 20 54 295Sunshine Hours 115 124 139 158 205 229 248 244 167 142 103 95 1971 Information from Moncton International Airport 10 kilometers northwest of Memramcook, from Environnement Canada. Data taken between 1971 and 2000.

Memramcook is built on sedimentary rocks. Beaumont area is composed of rocks from the Cumberland Group, dating from the Pennsylvanian period whereas the rest of Memramcook is made of rocks from the Mabou area dating back to the Mississippian period. In the south of the NB province, there are rocks from the Horton group dating to Pennsylvanian and Devonian periods.

Memramcook is situated in the ecoregion of Eastern Lowlands, and in the ecodistrict of Petitcodiac. The forest is dominated by Red Spruce, Black Spruce, Fir, Paper Birch and Red Maples. There are also Poplars, American White Pine and Eastern Hemlock in some areas. The Trois Rivières region is also a major migration route for several species of birds.

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Memramcook had a population of 5029 living in 2081 of its 2147 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 4778. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. Women make up 50.8% compared to 51.3% for the province. For those over 15 years of age, 29.5% are single, 56.3% are married, 2.875% separated, 4.9% divorced and 6.5% widowed. In terms of population, Memramcook is classed at 19th in the province. French is the mother tongue for 84.3% of the population, 13.6% are anglophones and 2.1% are allophones. 83.4% can speak both official languages, 9.7% only speak French and 6.9% only speak English. French is spoken at home by 83.1%, English by 16.7%, both languages by 0.4% and a non official language by 0.2% of the population. French is the working language for 48.9% of people, 43.4% for English and 7.8% use both languages. 47.3% of habitants aged 15 years or older have a certificate, diploma or post secondary education, compared to 44.6% in the province. Among people aged over 15 years, the participation rate is 68.0%, the employment rate is 63.9% and the unemployment rate is 5.9%, sharply down from the rate of 10.1% in 2001. By way of comparison, in the province are respectively 63.7%, 57.3% and 10.0%, meaning that the economy of Memramcook is generally healthier than the provincial average 28. Among these jobs, there were 3.5% in agriculture (6.9% provincially), 11.2% in construction (6.7% provincially), 9.9% in manufacturing (10, 8% provincial), 3.4% in wholesale trade (3.6% provincially), 9.7% in retail trade (11.9% provincially), 7.5% in finance and real estate (4.2% provincially), 10.1% in health and social services (11.4% provincially), 6.5% in education (6.5% provincially), 13, 6% in services trade (16.9% provincially) and 23.6% in other services (21.1% provincially) 28. Among the employed population, 4.5% work at home, 12.4% have no fixed place of work and 82.8% have a fixed place of work. Among workers with a fixed place of work, 20.0% work in the village, 74.5% work elsewhere in the county, 2.9% work elsewhere in the province and 2.6% work in another province 29.

The orchards are a major employer. In the territory including the DSL Dorchester Parish, Dorchester, Fort Folly 1 and Memramcook, there were 55 farmers in 2001, averaging 53.7 years and a total of 45 farms. An area of 283 km 2, 5263 ha were used 30. There are two branches of the Caisse populaire Dieppe Memramcook, based in Dieppe and member of Credit Unions Acadian 31.

Memramcook is a member of the Association Francophone des municipalités du Nouveau Brunswick Association of Francophone Municipalities of NB). It is a part of the Memramcook Tantramar riding of New Brunswick, represented by Megan Mitton of the Green Party. In terms of federal representation, Memramcook is a part of Beauséjour riding, which is represented by Dominic LeBlanc of the Liberal Party.

The library service lies in the town hall. It has nearly 14,500 books, including a small collection in English. There are also magazines, music, movies, and two computers available to the public. Located in the same building, the Community Access Centre Memramcook has 9 computers and offers training. In the field of health, Memramcook has the Foyer Saint Thomas de Memramcook Valley Inc., an organization non profit providing housing and care to elderly or disabled. The 5 residences have 100 apartments and 2 clinical extended care with 58 beds. The organization has 33 volunteers. The 2 closest hospitals are "Memorial Hospital" in Sackville which is English at a distance of about twenty kilometers, and a French speaking "Dr. Georges L. Dumont University Hospital Centre" which is French and located in Moncton, a distance of 30 kilometers. The Fire Department has 48 Memramcook Fire volunteers. The current Fire Chief is Gérald Boudreau. The fire department was born from the merger in 2006 of services Pre d'en Haut and Memramcook. It has a central fire station in St. Joseph and a secondary barracks Pre d'en Haut, with a total 5 fire trucks. The village has no post of Ambulance New Brunswick and the reaction time is considered too long. For this reason, firefighters also have two trucks and emergency are trained to handle the situation in case of accident or medical emergency, pending the arrival of ambulances. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police serves as Police and has a detachment in Memramcook including a corporal and four constables. It is part of District 4 RCMP, whose headquarters is located in Shediac. The planning is the responsibility of the Planning Commission Beaubassin whose main office is located in Shediac, but an agent is available at Village Hall. There are two post offices in Memramcook.