Description of Historic Place

The Hartland Salmon Pool is located adjacent to and slightly northwest of Main Street in Hartland. It extends from the mouth of the Becaguimec River along the Saint John River to a point just upriver from the Hartland Covered Bridge.

Heritage Value

The Hartland Salmon Pool is designated a Local Historic Place for having been one of the best natural fishing pools anywhere. First Nations people named the pool, "Becaguimec" which means “river of salmon”. During their pioneer years, the first European settlers of the area, the Loyalists, depended on the salmon harvest from this pool for food. Later, during the first half of the 20th century, the pool became internationally renowned as a sports fisherman's paradise. The location of the pool within the town boundaries is unique. In its heyday, local citizens of the town were known to take their lunch hours to fly fish in the famous pool. Very few salmon have been caught in the Hartland salmon since the Mactaquac dam was built in 1967, however many fisherman still line the shores in hopes of catching salmon that have been stocked above the dam.

Source: Hartland Town Hall archives, Hartland Salmon Pool file

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the Hartland Salmon Pool include:
- rare instance of a natural, internationally-renowned sport fishing area within municipal town boundaries;
- unique combination of features at this point in the Saint John River that created a prime salmon resting area, including the riverbed contours, an adjacent island, the mouth of a tributary stream (Becaguimec), underwater springs, current patterns, ripples and pools;
- historic salmon harvesting area for First Nations people and later by Loyalists, the first European settlers to the area;
- continued use as a sport fishing site, despite dwindling salmon stocks.