Sackville, NB, Town, pop 5361 (2001c), 5393 (1996c), 5494 (1991c), 5470 (1986c), area 74.32 km2, inc 1903, situated 50 km SE of Moncton on Tantramar River, near the NS border. Best known as the home of MOUNT ALLISON U (fd 1839), Sackville overlooks the wide expanse of the Tantramar Marshes, which inspired the poetry of its most famous son, Sir Charles G.D. ROBERTS. The area was first settled in the 1670s by the ACADIANS, who built dikes to reclaim its rich farmland from the sea. After the Expulsion of 1755, these lands were taken up by immigrants from New England and Yorkshire, England.
By the mid-19th century, Sackville was a thriving port, with local shipbuilders supplying the sailing vessels needed to send farm produce and lumber to markets in Britain and the W Indies. Construction of the INTERCOLONIAL RAILWAY through the town (1870) bolstered its position as a commercial centre.
With the end of the age of sail in the Maritimes after 1900, the port closed and commerce declined. A large stove foundry, established in the mid-1800s, is still in operation, and together with the university employs most of the local work force. Sackville is a town of fine old homes and tree-shaded streets, dominated by the red sandstone buildings of the university.