Francis Peabody is best known as “the founder of Chatham.” He was born in Boxford, Massachusetts, in 1760. Thirty years later he had a trading business centered in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In 1799, he visited the Miramichi on one of his trading journeys. He liked the area so well that he moved here in the next year.
At that time, the Miramichi had no important villages or towns. The only way to travel was by water. Newcastle had started to grow on the north side of the river. But Chatham was just wooded land. There were no schools, bridges, or churches.
In 1801, Peabody bought a large piece of land near the edge of the Miramichi. In later years, this was to become downtown Chatham. Peabody built a small home on the waterfront. On his land was a large tree. He used to tie his trading boat to this tree and trade from the boat.
Before long he became the most important businessman in a quickly growing town. In 1838, he built a large new home. It was built near the present-day N. B. Telephone Building in downtown Chatham. Peabody used part of his home as a store. This building is no longer standing.
Peabody named his new village “Chatham” He did this in honor of William Pitt, the Earl of Chatham. Pitt was an important person in the English government at the time.
In the 1820’s and 1830’s, Peabody’s business continued to grow. He built a shipyard at England’s Hollow in the east end of Chatham. He also had a sawmill built upriver near Blackville, New Brunswick.
When he died in 1841, Peabody was the best known businessman on the river. He was a fair and just person. This made him very well-liked. Peabody had shown the kind of leadership that caused other businessmen to follow in his footsteps to Chatham. Chatham quickly grew into New Brunswick’s largest town. Francis Peabody was truly one of the Miramichi’s great people.