Coaster Enthusiasts of Canada

NEW BRUNSWICK

Woodstock

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Island Park
(1890? 1909? 1919 - 1966?)

(Also known as "Connell Park" and as "Exhibition Park".)

    This park was situated on a 28-hectare tear-drop shaped island in The Saint John River at the mouth of The Meduxnekeage River. (See the aerial photo near the end of this article.) Before European settlement, natives used the island as a summer camp and as a base for salmon fishing. This lasted into the 1800s. When the Creek Area (as this part of present Woodstock was once known), was to be settled, Captain Jacob Smith was granted land in the area for having fought in the American War of Independence. He was allowed to choose the property he wanted as a reward for being loyal to the British Crown. He selected an expanse along the river's shore plus the entire "Island at Woodstock". So in 1784, he built a log cabin on land that later became occupied by the town of Woodstock. It was situated on the shore overlooking the island. (This area was one of the ones to later be covered in water, as discussed at the end of this article.)

    Eventually, his son, Richard Smith, inherited some, and acquired other, parts of his father's land. His will in turn, provided that his wife be able to lease some of it and sell the rest. The island in The Saint John River ended up with Charles. R. Rogers. In 1890 A. B. Connell, executor of the estate of John W. Connell (another whose family had bought blocks of land from Richard Smith's widow), purchased the island from Rogers. A free public reserve was to be created for the benefit of the citizens of Woodstock. This was to be known as "Connell Park", although it's not known if John requeasted that name or if the public simply came to call it that.

    There is some confusion as to the exact date this occurred because another source says that the land was not acquired until 1909. Regardless, a grandstand was erected and baseball diamond put in as recreation for island-goers. The southern, treed section of the island would become a picnic ground with a pump for water supply. A pre-World War I postcard shows picnickers and a horse-drawn vehicle in this area.

    In 1918 the central portion of the island was leased to the Carleton County Agricultural Society for $1 per year until 1938, with an option to renew the lease. They wanted to transfer their agricultural exhibition to the island. Be aware that one source says the fair did not actually start to run there until the 1922 season, but four years just seems to long to lease the land without using it and a newspaper source gives a date of 1919 that the exhibition building was constructed. The 1922 date may be confused with the first year the miniature ran. (See farther on for discussion of the railway.) Regardless, the fair was held there in early September for decades.

    The southern part of the island was kept as a picnic ground while exhibition structures were erected in the central area thanks to a $101,000 budget. One of these was a two-story, 1000 square-metre barn & exhibit building to house over 100 horses, plus have space available for cattle, pigs, poultry, and sheep. Also built was a horse racetrack with a regulation 20-metre wide home stretch and a large grandstand. Harness (sulky) racing was the main attraction at the track. It lasted until the park's demise where upon racing was transferred to the mainland.

    A photo taken in the 1930s or 40s shows the entrance to the track with a two-story office in the foreground. A ticket kiosk in the shape of a large clown head wearing a derby, is situated in front of this building. The ticket window is the clown's mouth. To the left is a free-standing placard the height of the building. Painted on it is another full-length clown standing on a small box. He is holding a large ball off to one side of himself upon which are the words "Grand Stand", and the whole thing is cut out in the shape of this clown and the ball. It's unknown if these were there from the start of not, but one source credits Wentworth Stone as the painter.

    There was also a "driving club" that called the island their home, but it's not yet entirely clear what they were driving. A 1920s or 30s photo shows the Exhibition Building with a large number of people and automobiles of the era. Car "touring" was popular at the time, so the driving club may have referred to automobiles. Opposing this idea is a photo which shows a harness race in progress with a "W. D. Club" (Woodstock Driving Club) pennant flying above the judges' stand, so the "driving" may have referred to just the sulkys.

    Road access to the park was gained from a long steel bridge that crossed The Saint John River. It passed over a muddy area on the north side of the island called "Sucker Flat". A ramp lead up on to the bridge from here. It's not known if this bridge and its ramp were built in conjunction with the island's exhibition or if the bridge just happened to be in a handy place and the ramp was added afterwards.

    Island Park did not have many permanent amusement devices, so each year for the exhibition, carnival rides were brought in. One source thought that Bill Lynch shows was the carnival provider for at least part of the park's run. (See Findlay's Pleasure Grounds for Lynch information.) Rides came to include bumper cars and a ferris wheel, along with a "house of horrors" and a fun house. There were games and a bingo tent. Because of the presentation nature of the island, and the yearly fair, it was often referred to as "Exhibition Park".

    Side shows had a bearded lady, a sword swallower, and a frozen "body" that was supposed to be a Sasquatch or similar. The side show also had "girlie" tents featuring burlesque shows that were the forerunner of today's strip clubs. In keeping with the exhibition, there were bake displays, preserves, and vegetable & animal contests similar to modern rural fairs. There were also other events that would run in the summer so a midway was often set up for such times. Even without any special events, the sports facilities were used throughout the warm season.

The Railway

    Despite the semi-permanent nature of this midway, there was at least one permanent ride - a miniature steam railway. It would run during the exhibition and most other events on the island. The locomotive and cars for it had been built by Woodstock native Albert (Ethelbert) Wort, whom was the town's lamplighter and water works superintendent & engineer. Albert improved the existing systems and designed & built new equipment for the latter. The water plant's pumps were steam powered, so he drew upon this experience and expertise to construct a miniature railway engine and rolling stock from scratch. He had his own shop there where he built everything in his spare time. He also built and sold skis, toboggans, sleds, and pedal cars. (As an aside, see the article on the Woodstock Toboggan Run.)

    Starting with self-drawn plans in the 1890s, Albert built a steam locomotive, a tender, rolling stock, and a track layout - all over a period of 16 years. He personally did the casting & machining, with the exception of the most demanding castings, which were done at the local Dunbar Foundry.

    The first of what would eventually be four locomotives, was a twenty-five horsepower, 4-4-0 configuration utilizing water-tube boilers. It was said that this was the first rail locomotive to use such a method to produce steam. It ran on the mainland on a test track from the Water Works to the Saint John River bank starting no later than 1910.

The First Wort Locomotive and Tender Date Unknown

    Train Number 1 ran two wooden-body cars, each about 5 metres long. Seating capacity per car was 12 adults, while the engineer sat in the front part of the tender. All ran on a 419-millimetre gauge track bought from an Ontario mining company which had run a narrow-gauge rail system. (Standard gauge in Canada for a full-size railway is 1435mm.)

    Albert ran and maintained everything himself, although eventually his family became involved. Albert had three sons and six daughters. Sons Donald and Gordon helped with the building, and then later drove the trains when they were at Island Park. Donald would drive Engine Number 1, with Gordon on Number 2. The third son, Allan, was involved, but only on rare occasions. All the girls sold tickets and worked at the Station Canteen at one time or another.

The Original Wort Locomotives 1920s ?

These are Wort's first locomotives. Here they pull in tandem, with #1 in front. Part of one of the covered passenger cars is visible at Center Left. The 4-4-0 configuration of the first locomotive is evident in this photo.

    The first train and a second two-car unit built by Wort also ran in the town park near the Canadian National Railway station for 1920 and 1921. The test track was not used at this time. Train Number 2 consisted of a steam locomotive similar in design to the first, but in a 4-6-0 wheel configuration. Its rolling stock consisted of three cars: two of the 12-passenger cars and one shorter, 3.7-metre car for eight passengers.

    It's not clear when this second train was built. A second reference conveys that the first locomotive was not started to be built until 1913 and did not run until 1920, but this is clearly wrong, as there is a 1910 newspaper article detailing the miniature railway. Plus in an interview, Albert Wort alluded to having built the first locomotive and rolling stock in at least the 19-0s, and likely earlier. Remember that sources said he spent 16 years on the first, and since a newspaper article gives 1910 as the latest first-running year, that makes the project start-year at least 1894 and possibly earlier. Based on this, the 1913 - 1920 dates appear to be for the second locomotive and cars.

    Regardless of when the trains were built, they were transferred to the exhibition grounds on Island Park starting in 1922 (1921 from another source), where they remained as a permanent attraction.

    On the island, Wort's creation became known as "Island Park Railway", although at least one later locomotive had "Miniature Railway" stencilled on it. The layout consisted of about 800 metres of track leading from the bridge ramp to the Exhibition Building near the midway. At the park end was a turntable, while presumably at the bridge end of the route was a loop and switch. Thus, the main route ran on the same track in both directions.

    Stations were situated at each location, one of which was named "Tipperary", and a uniformed engineer and conductor would run each train. There eventually came to be a 30-metre tunnel, a similar length bridge, and an illuminated trestle as part of this layout. Level crossings had warning signs, just as with full-size railroads. A five-bay roundhouse for storage & maintenance and a rail siding made up the main yard. Along with the turntable and loop, at each terminal were water towers and coal chutes. At the main yard were a canteen and ticket office. A sign above read "Island Park Railway Station".

Miniature Railway Main Yard 1938 ?

Here is the main yard for the park's miniature railway. At Lower Left is a turntable with one of the engines partly on it. Behind it is a large barrel on a short tower. It was for supplying water to the locomotives. To the left, out of frame, is the roundhouse. The Exhibition Building and canteen lie out of frame to the right. Both tracks moving away from you combine via a switch and the resulting single track leads to Tipperary Station at the park's entrance. Note an automobile of the era at Center Right, background.

    Rides were initially 5 cents per trip but had changed to 10 cents a round trip by the late 1920s. The trains would even run after dark, ferrying passengers from the exhibition grounds to the bridge ramp. On-board lighting was powered by a 12-volt automotive battery.

    As the park neared the end of its first lease, both trains were sold and transported to India where they ran between a prince's palace and the local post office. This happened in 1936 (1937 from another source). Albert then built two more to replace them during 1937 and 38. These were ready to run for the 1938 season. Considering the money from the sale and the quick construction, it would seem that Wort hired some helpers to assist in the building of new units.

    Wort's work did not go unnoticed and he was awarded membership with The American Institute of Inventors (also shown as The "New York Inventors Club" by one source). That accolade was bestowed on September, 28, 1939.

Island Park Train Late 1930s	Wort's trains wait in front of the Exhibition Building. Number 1 leads while Number 2 trails. The latter's 4-6-0 configuration may be plainly seen.
Note the small railway bridge at Lower Right. After crossing that bridge, the trains would arrive at the main exhibition area where they would be rotated around for the return journey. A midway ferris wheel is in the background at Center Right.

    These replacement models had improved boilers capable of higher pressures and utilized triple superheaters. They could use coal, oil, or wood as fuel, and they incorporated steam brakes. Their wheel configurations were 4-6-4 for Engine #3 and 4-6-2 for #4.

    The new locomotives were black in colour with aluminum, brass, and/or copper trim and weighed about 1.4 tonnes each. Their new cars were larger, seating eighteen passengers, and were red in colour. Unfortunately, they ran only for one season before world events caused the exhibition to be put on hold.

Exhibition Building Station 1930s

Here's another shot of the Exhibition Building and engines. The small structure between the locomotives is either a maintenance facility or possible coal storage, while to its right may be seen the water tower. Locomotive #2 is to the left of the small structure; #1 is to the right of the water tower with its front wheel truck on the turntable, just visible at the extreme right. The left side of the canteen is visible at Center Right, above & behind the turntable. Note the small dormers on the Exhibition Building's roof, and also what appear to be missing shingles. The other building in the background at Right Center, is currently unidentified, but may be the main office.

    War broke out in Europe in early September, 1939. Although Canada did not declare war until September 10th, preparations had actually begun earlier. The exhibition was cancelled to make way for immediate training on the grounds. On September 4th, the Carleton-York Regiment headed by Lieutenant Colonel H.N. Ganong was mobilized at the park as infantry and artillery units. 4,000 New Brunswick citizens were ordered to report for active duty. They became part of The Canadian Active Service Force.

    When the first forces were ready, the Canadian war office sent a 20,000-man army division to Europe via ship. Since the regiment at Island Park had been training from an early point, it was ready sooner and became part of that first wave. It arrived in Greenock, Scotland on December 17th via The "Monarch of Bermuda". The first man off the ship was Sergeant Bernard Gregson of Milltown, New Brunswick, making him the first Canadian soldier to set foot in Great Britain at the start of World War II.

    Since the Woodstock exhibition did not run from 1939 through 1945, the miniature railway was out of service during that time. Albert Wort unfortunately never got to see his beloved train system operate again. He died in 1941 at age 67. (One source gives 66.)

    Despite no exhibition, some entertainment was still provided for those encamped on the island. One was clown, Leverett Stone. Until 1952, he was employed locally by The Canadian Pacific (National?) Railway and was in charge of the engine roundhouse. In his clown profession, he was known as "Tip" and performed in the Woodstock area for many years. His other talents included magic and ventriloquism, and he later could often be seen in the Old Home Week parades every summer. It should be noted that the painter of the grandstand's clown signs, Wentworth Stone, was Leverett's son.

    After the war, the society resumed the exhibition starting with the 1946 season. One of Albert's sons, Gordon Wort, decided to try to get the miniature railway running again. Unfortunately, with no supervision, bored soldiers had tried to run, or outright vandalized, the trains during the years the park did not operate. Consequently, they required much work.

    Gordon persevered and was able to restore the railway to operating status. However, with little capital available and being unable to secure any investors, it's not known if the trains ever operated commercially at Island Park for any time after the war. Regardless, the trains were eventually sold to Lewis Bearce in Caribou, Maine, where they ran for a bit. After Lewis died, they next went to North Carolina, with no word as to where they are today. Considering only four Wort locomotives were ever made, they'd be worth a fortune to collectors today - if any still exist.

Island Park Station Canteen 1930s ?

This shows the canteen next to the main exhibition area. In fact, the Exhibition Building's roof may be seen above the canteen's roof at Upper Right. The main railway yard would be to the left, out of frame.

    In 1946 (1949 from another source), the Exhibition Building burned. It was replaced with a simpler pitched-roof building that was one story along the sides but rose to two, or slightly more, stories at the roof peak.

    A 1949 or early 1950s aerial photograph below shows the island ringed in trees with a clear, flat central area. One larger grove at the southern end indicates where the picnic grounds had been established. The racetrack is clearly visible with a fenced-in baseball field and diamond in the center. Also seen is the new Exhibition Building and over a dozen other structures. Near one side of this area, close to the perimeter tree line, are three other buildings or tents. An unpaved roadway runs from this area past the Exhibition Building area and through a grove of trees at the north end of the island out to the access ramp to the bridge. No boat docks are visible in the photo, but there are some other paths/roadways that run around the island and one of those may lead to an unseen dock. There is no sign of the miniature railway tracks, so they are either too small to be resolved in the photographs, or perhaps they were removed and sold with the trains. This may not have happened though, because researcher Mark Reid found one of the rails during a 2005 trip. (See the "Update" at the end.) There is a faint, thin line visible in a higher resolution version of the photo that that may indicate the tracks or where they might have been.

Island Park 1949 or early 1950s

The Meduxnekeage River flows through the town of Woodstock at Lower Right. It passes under the rail bridge and into The Saint John RIver. The bridge that crosses The Saint John passes over the mud flat where the ramp to the island can be seen. The small island at Top Right with its crown of trees is still partly visible above the water today.

    No information has yet surfaced on the park for the 1950s except that two swimming pools were installed at some point - one for children and the other for adults. A late 1950s or early 1960s photo shows Little League baseball teams marching down the ramp to the park. They hold placards with team names: "Indians", "Yankees", and a third name that is unresolvable.

    A New Brunswick Travel Bureau brochure most likely published sometime between 1961 and 1964, lists Island Park and states it had picnic & camping sites and a swimming pool. Was one pool closed by then? The camping sites were often occupied by trailers every year from at least the 1950s onward.

Island Park Campground 1950s

Trailers crowd the southern end of the race track. The purpose of the area at Top Left is not presently known.

    The travel bureau brochure also states that there was an Old Home Week event each year in early August. The text implies this event was then recently new, indicating a late 1950s or early 1960s start. Since the exhibition's leases seem to have been in 20-season stretches and the first ran from 1918 until 1937, then presumably was renewed from 1938 until 1957, I suspect a third lease commenced in 1958. That may have been the start year for Old Home Week. Alternatively, given the World War II gap, a third lease may have not started until 1946 which would have ended in 1965, a few years before the park would close.

    An accompanying photo in the brochure shows harness racing on a track. A ring of trees is visible behind the track's spectators that continues on behind the amusement area in the far background. There, a ferris wheel and barn-like building can be seen. The latter was likely the Exhibition Building constructed in the last 1940s or in 1950. A third structure may be the central support of another amusement ride.

    The park's demise was spelled, when in the early 1960s, a hydro-electric undertaking was planned by New Brunswick Power for The Saint John River. (This river has many such projects.) It would include a dam about 80 kilometres down river at Mactaquac which would have a power output of 300 megawatts (later 600 MW). This dam would raise water levels upstream of it and unfortunately inundate Island Park. The project was begun in 1964 and completed in 1966.

    If their lease expired at the end of 1965, they were probably given a year-to-year in light of the pending dam project. The last season for Island Park was likely 1966. Save for one grove of trees near, but separated from the northern end of the island, It now lies under five metres of water, as does the mainland site of the log cabin of original island owner, Jacob Smith. The bridge crossing the river at Woodstock, which gave access to the island via the ramp, was removed.

    A 1984 New Brunswick Tourism brochure no longer shows Island Park. The Old Home Week event was still listed (July 28 - August 4 that year), and harness racing was shown as occurring at Connell Park on the mainland. This is where the exhibition continues to be run to this day.

---

    UPDATE August 2005: Mark Reid, who lives near Centreville just northwest of Woodstock, was able to get on to the island. The Saint John River level was very low and exposed quite a bit of the land. He saw concrete forms where buildings used to be and one of the rails of the miniature railroad sticking out of the ground. Perhaps the rails never went with the second group of locomotives when they were sold. Mark also obtained some metal fittings. They are reproduced below.

Metal Artifacts from the Island 2005

These appear to be wrought iron fittings from the grandstand seats or possibly they are from park-style benches that may have been on the island.

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