Nashwaak River (N.B.)

The Nashwaak River, located in west-central New Brunswick, Canada, is a tributary of the Saint John River. It is 113 kilometres long, draining an area of roughly 1,706 km2 (659 sq mi). The river drains south from Nashwaak Lake (southeast of the village of Juniper) before turning east to flow through the village of Stanley and the community of Nashwaak, continuing southeast to Nashwaak Bridge and then south through several rural communities such as Taymouth, Durham Bridge, Nashwaak Village, and Penniac before entering Fredericton through Marysville and dividing the neighbourhoods of Barkers Point and Devon. Its mouth is divided by a small island before it spills into the Saint John River. It was used heavily by the Wolastoqey people as a transportation route to northwestern New Brunswick. A French fort, Fort Nashwaak, was built somewhere near the river's mouth in 1692 and was the first European settlement in the Fredericton area. It was captured by the British in 1696, and land along the river was later granted to United Empire Loyalists during the American Revolution. Further settlement occurred through the 19th century. A rail line (the former Canadian National Nashwaak subdivision) and Route 8, both important links from southern to northern New Brunswick, were built along the river's shore. The Nashwaak subdivision's rails were removed in 1995, and it is now an ATV and walking trail. In addition to the Nashwaak subdivision, the Minto subdivision, which passed from South Devon to Minto crossing the Nashwaak near its mouth, and has also since been converted to a walking trail (in-city) and ATV trail (out-of-city). A walking trail makes use of the right-of-way created by a short rail spur that used to followed the river on its east bank from Barkers Point to the Marysville Cotton Mill. Today, the river is popular for recreational paddling, fishing, and tubing, while the trails alongside it are attractive for ATV riding and bicycling.