First settled by the sons and daughters of the Loyalists from Massachusetts, Keswick Ridge and its surrounding communities have grown to include families from different ancestries, including Dutch, Scottish, British, African American, Irish, and Acadian.

Though the landscape has changed and some buildings have come and gone, the photographs from our collection show Keswick Ridge and the surrounding areas as it was.

Once located in a village called Ekwpahak (meaning “Head of the Tide”) and its adjacent island, the Maliseet community were forced to relocate to Kingsclear in 1795. Through trials and tribulations, the Kingsclear First Nations have persevered and grown.

Built and opened in 1887, the Keswick Ridge Superior School stayed open until 1969, eventually becoming the headquarters for the Historical Society.

First a shoemaker's shop, then a small country store in 1875, it then housed the lower Keswick Ridge Post Office in 1878. Once at the corner of Keswick Ridge Road and McKeen Drive, it now resides behind the schoolhouse and is being restored to its former glory.

Constructed in the late 1960’s, the Mactaquac Dam eventually flooded land, roads and entire communities, causing the displacement of thousands of people and forever changing the local landscape.

Once a thriving village built around a water-powered mill built by Daniel Jewett, the construction of the Mactaquac Hydroelectric Generating Station in 1966 flooded the land, causing the relocation of several homes and buildings, and the mill was dismantled.

From personal correspondence, to journals, formal invitations and announcements, newspaper clippings and contracts, the Keswick Ridge Historical Society has a little bit of everything.