The Mill

 

INTRODUCTION

The complex squatted on land dredged from the adjacent river bed. In the spring, the saturated earth threatened to swallow the mill and the few adjacent houses; The Summer heat baked the earth while listless winds wandered the grounds.

            My youthful view was from the grimy windows of an ancient school bus groaning past the site with depressing regularity. As a sullen teen, I knew the mill absently as the place where Dad worked. Actually, he didn't work "in" the mill. He was the bookkeeper/paymaster in the company office a few hundred yards up the street. A few years later, when I needed work to pay student loans; the mill gave me steady employment at a fair wage.

            It has been shuttered for decades and forgotten by many except retirees and the bank that seized the assets in a bankruptcy claim.

 

In the late eighties and onward, many forestry and mining companies in the Miramichi region shared similar fates. Raw material became unprofitable to access or process. With outdated equipment and shifting markets, many industries collapsed.

Economic and political variables play out with little regard for employees and citizens. People are left to stare at rusting machinery and collapsing buildings. They have a brief time to reflect on their lives and income before they drift to the next era in their community or leave it. The Miramichi region has experienced the vagaries of primary industries since the 1800s.

This story offers an alternate perspective. It follows four generations of the Burchill family, who created a lumber dynasty stretching over one hundred forty years. The narrative draws from a variety of sources, including John Burchill and his father, Senator Percy Burchill.

Through the experiences of successive generations, this account describes these men as entrepreneurs and community supporters.

The author gratefully acknowledges Derek Burchill (John’s son). His cooperation was essential in making much of the material available.

The Burchill story is compelling. Their successes and failures are intrinsically tied to the people of Miramichi, specifically the residents of the small village of Nelson, where the mill was located.

 

           

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER ONE - Beginnings

The story begins on Beaubear’s Island (Quoomeneegook), or "Island of Pines" as it was known to the Migmaw people. Less than 3 km long and 1 km wide, it’s at the confluence of the Northwest Miramichi and Southwest Miramichi rivers. Towering White Pines still form a canopy over most of the island. For the Mi’gmaw, it was their living and hunting grounds for a thousand years before the appearance of Scottish settlers led by William Davidson.

Davidson was the first non-indigenous person to establish a community on Beaubear’s. His efforts included clearing a portion of the island, harvesting the White Pine for the British Navy, and setting up a fisheries industry. An Acadian population followed after their expulsion by the British from the area we know as New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

 

 

General Charles Boishebert the island’s namesake) led 900 Acadians from Nova Scotia in a desperate attempt to find a new home. They were not prepared for the harsh climate.

In the first winter of 1657, it is estimated, two hundred individuals died of malnutrition and scurvy. A couple of years later, The British, in a show of force and retribution, massacred most of the others, including women and children.

The island remained unoccupied for the next century. In the early 1800s, the Irish settled on Beaubear’s Island. In 1826, six-year-old George Burchill peered over a ship’s railing as it made its way along the Miramichi River. George, his two brothers, and two sisters could barely contain their excitement. Their parents paired the anticipation with uncertainty. Unlike the generation of Irish emigrants who followed, starvation from famine was not the motivator. The Burchills left behind their comfortable home and way of life in Bandon, Ireland.

The father, Thomas, chose to bring his young family to the sparsely populated country so they would know the value of creating a new life for themselves.

As he matured, George did not disappoint his parents. He began work as a clerk while still in school.

Joseph Russell, a local entrepreneur and shipbuilder, frequented the store where the young Burchill worked. He noticed the boy’s energy and efficiency. In 1840, he hired George as a clerk, and in less than seven years, Burchill had risen to Business Manager, and worked closely with John Harley, the young, ambitious Master Builder. The two became friends. They began to share a vision of one day creating their shipbuilding company. Their first loyalty remained with Russell, who willingly volunteered his knowledge as a businessman and shipbuilder.

Burchill and Harley were enthusiastic students of the older man. Russell was a conscientious person who worked hard to improve the lot of his employees and the community.

He was also a devout Mormon who attempted to recruit followers. The effort was met with resentment from the predominantly Irish Catholic residents. At one gathering of the small Mormon flock, a band of hooligans broke into the meeting. They ridiculed the participants and beat Russell so severely that he gave up the pulpit.

The persecution of those he had helped weighed heavily on him, and Russell decided to move his family to Beaubear’s Island to. Coincidental to his move, the timber market was low. The once-thriving Cunard yard went broke. And with it the savings of many residents of Chatham. Cunard was the de facto banker before the established institutions. Joseph Russell saw the future that did not include him. On June 24, 1850, he set sail for the USA on the Omega, the last vessel he had constructed. Before he left, he negotiated the sale of his boatyard and inventory to Burchill and Harley.

It was not the transition they anticipated but the two men met the challenge head-on. They introduced efficiencies in the boatbuilding process.

They reasoned, a ship’s life could be expanded and thus made more profitable. Harley and Burchill built sturdy and reliable craft and they insured them adequately. They produced nine square-rigged ships weighing 500 to over 1000 tons. The feat would be herculean by today’s standards when considering the rudimentary construction tools. Two of their vessels, "Ocean Bride" and "Equator," carried cargo worldwide for decades.