Sainte-Anne-de-Madawaska, New Brunswick: History, Things to Do and Travel Guide
Sainte-Anne-de-Madawaska is a former village on the Saint John River in New Brunswick, in the River Valley region. It is now part of Vallée-des-Rivières, a northwest New Brunswick municipality formed through the province’s 2023 local governance reform.
The strongest visitor anchors are easy to name: the river setting, the large 1923 Sainte-Anne-de-Madawaska Church, the former village core on Principale Street, and the experimental forest connected to the Université de Moncton campus in Edmundston.
How Sainte-Anne-de-Madawaska Started
The community grew around parish, river and forestry life in Madawaska County. The Provincial Archives of New Brunswick’s Madawaska County guide places the creation of Sainte-Anne Parish in 1877, carved from Saint-Basile and Saint-Léonard.
The church became the community’s main public landmark. HistoricPlaces.ca identifies Sainte-Anne-de-Madawaska Church as a Local Historic Place and ties its religious value to annual pilgrimages to Sainte-Anne that began around the time of the first resident parish priest, Father Isaac Dumont, circa 1886.
The current church was built in 1923 from local granite. HistoricPlaces.ca describes its Romanesque arches, Latin-cross plan, twin steeples, iron crosses, Saint Anne statue and interior artwork. Its hilltop position still explains why Tourism New Brunswick describes the church as visible from far off on the horizon.
On January 1, 2023, Sainte-Anne-de-Madawaska joined Saint-Léonard and nearby local service district areas to form Vallée-des-Rivières. The former village name remains the name travellers see in local listings, church references and maps.
What Sainte-Anne-de-Madawaska Is Like Today
Statistics Canada recorded 891 people in the former Sainte-Anne-de-Madawaska village census subdivision in 2021. The larger Vallée-des-Rivières municipality is administered from offices that include an address on Principale Street in Sainte-Anne-de-Madawaska.
The landscape is a river-valley landscape with Appalachian slopes behind it. Tourism New Brunswick presents the community through the church, the view from the village and the region’s experimental forest. That combination keeps the visitor focus local: stone church, river road, forested hills and small-town northwest New Brunswick services.
Forestry is still part of the area’s identity. The Université de Moncton’s forestry school describes its experimental forest as an 830-hectare site in the Sainte-Anne-de-Madawaska area, within Vallée-des-Rivières, less than half an hour from its Edmundston campus.
Things to Do and Places Nearby
Start with Sainte-Anne-de-Madawaska Church on Principale Street. Even when interior access is limited, the exterior, cemetery, hilltop setting and twin steeples give the former village its clearest landmark.
Use the experimental forest for a more landscape-based stop. The Université de Moncton describes low hills, small valleys and forest conditions representative of northwest New Brunswick, with directions from Highway 2 through Davis Road or Martin Road.
Leave time for the Saint John River setting. Sainte-Anne-de-Madawaska is not a resort town, so a short visit works best when it is built around the church, the river road and one confirmed outdoor stop.
Quick Facts
- Province: New Brunswick
- Region: River Valley
- Community type: Former village within Vallée-des-Rivières
- Population: 891 in 2021
- Main landmark: Sainte-Anne-de-Madawaska Church
- Church construction: Local granite church built in 1923
- Natural/research site: Université de Moncton experimental forest
- Current municipal website: https://vdrnb.com/
Travel Notes
Sainte-Anne-de-Madawaska is easiest to visit by car. Highway 2 gives the main regional access, with local roads leading into the former village and toward the experimental forest.
Check church access, local events and forest directions before travelling. The best visit is compact: see the church area, follow the river setting through the community, and add the experimental forest only when weather and access line up.