25 Years of Madawaska Valley

On January 13, 1902, the Township of Radcliffe held their first meeting with John Hudson serving as Reeve. Radcliffe had existed in some form prior to this date – the Townships of Brudenell, Radcliffe, Raglan, and Lyndoch had been incorporated back in 1860. Radcliffe gained its independence in 1902, with Mr. Hudson as Reeve and William Boehme, James McKay, Thomas Mahon, and Joseph Mayhew serving as Councillors. Treasurer W.E. James and Clerk J.E.H. Miller rounded out the table. 

Only a year after the creation of the Township of Radcliffe, William Boehme is elected Reeve of Radcliffe. A tailer by trade, Boehme’s name may be recognizable to those who have researched the history of the Mayflower – Boehme was a passenger on the steamer when it sunk in 1912.

Meanwhile in Barry’s Bay, a new kind of industry came to town. Down Paugh Lake Road, Canada Turpentine Company Limited established a factory to extract tar and gum from tree stumps left behind from logging activities. At the time the largest industrial investment in Barry’s Bay, the factory employed thirty by 1907. Unfortunately the industry was short lived and the factory closed in July 1908. The site of the old factory changed hands a few times before being purchased by the Murray Brothers Lumber Company, who built a grading and planning facility on the land. After 33 years in operation, the machinery and equipment was moved to Madawaska.