Quispamsis facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Quispamsis
Town
Quispamsis Town Hall
Flag Seal Coat of arms
Nickname(s):  Quispam', Q-Dot, Q-Pam
Motto(s):  "Quispamsis Floreat"  (Latin) "Quispamsis Flourish"
Quispamsis Location in New Brunswick
Country	Canada
Province	New Brunswick
County	Kings County
Parish	Rothesay Parish
Incorporated (village)	1966
Incorporated (town)	December 22, 1982
Electoral Districts Federal	Fundy Royal
Provincial	Quispamsis
Government
• Type	Town Council
Area
• Land	57.21 km2 (22.09 sq mi)
Population  (2016)
• Total	18,245
• Density	318.9/km2 (826/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-4 (AST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-3 (ADT)
Canadian postal code	E2E, E2G, E2S
Area code(s)	506
Telephone Exchanges	847, 848, 849
NTS Map	021H05
GNBC Code	DAVTW

Quispamsis ( sometimes shortened to) is a Kings County suburb of Saint John, New Brunswick, located 20 kilometres (12 mi) to the northeast in the lower Kennebecasis River valley. Its population was 18,245 as of the 2016 census.

History

The original inhabitants of the area were the Maliseet First Nation, part of the Algonquin Federation . The name, "Quispamsis" was translated from the Maliseet language and means, "little lake in the woods", the lake being present-day Ritchie Lake. Acadians, British pre-Loyalists and Loyalists settled in the area around 1783, with many receiving land grants along the Kennebecasis and Hammond Rivers.

Quispamsis amalgamated in 1998 with the nearby communities of Gondola Point and Wells to form the present town, covering an area of 60 km² and bordering the town of Rothesay to the southwest with the Hammond River along its northeastern boundary. Quispamsis is the fastest growing town in the province of New Brunswick.

Parks

There are many ways to keep fit and busy in Quispamsis. There is a wide variety of recreational parks which offer beautiful scenery and unique amenities. Parks open at dawn and closed at dusk.

The public parks:

Arts and Culture Park (12 Landing Court) – includes walking trails, WiFi, picnic/chess tables, benches, stage and mezzanine. During the summer months there are outdoor movies and music free of charge and ice skating during the winter months.

Hammond River Park (28 Reynar Drive) – includes 40 acres of beautiful land, fire pit, barbecue, picnic tables, hiking trails and authentic log cabin which is available for rent.

Off Leash Park (222 Vincent Road) – fenced in area, trails and benches. This park is for all dog lovers. This is an area to let your dog run free and have fun!

Meenan’s Cove Park (199 Model Farm Road) – includes picnic tables, barbecues, beach, boat dock, playground, ball field, walking trails and beach volleyball courts. This park is wonderful for the entire family.

Ritchie Lake Park (Cedar Grove Drive) – includes picnic tables, beach and walking trails.

Quispamsis Recreation Centre - includes two soccer fields, a baseball field, tennis courts, and a playground as well as walking trails.

Gondola Point Beach - Gondola Point Beach is a supervised freshwater beach with changing rooms and picnic areas. It is situated on a sandbar overlooking the Kennebecasis River at the entrance to the Gondola Point Cable Ferry service in Quispamsis. In the summer of 2014 there was a section on the beach fenced off for a `dog beach`

Facts

• The Gondola Point Ferry, linking Quispamsis with the Kingston Peninsula, was originally installed by William Pitt and is the first underwater cable ferry in the world.
• Quispamsis qualifies for "city" status under the Municipalities Act of the Province of New Brunswick, but the town has made no move to change its municipal status.
• The COMEX bus service run by Saint John Transit runs through the Kennebecasis Valley and shuttles commuters from Quispamsis to Saint John every day, Mondays to Fridays. There are a few "park and ride" locations for commuters to leave their car for the day to take the bus into Saint John and along with other standing bus stops along the way.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Quispamsis had a population of 18,768 living in 6,855 of its 6,985 total private dwellings, a change of 2.9% from its 2016 population of 18,245. With a land area of 56.97 km² (22.00 sq mi), it had a population density of 329.4/km² (853/sq mi) in 2021.

Education

Quispamsis has a number of schools from grades K-12, these schools are:

Transport

The Gondola Point Ferry, linking Quispamsis with the Kingston Peninsula, was originally installed by William Pitt and is the first underwater cable ferry in the world.

The COMEX bus service run by Saint John Transit runs through the Kennebecasis Valley and shuttles commuters from Quispamsis to Saint John every day, Mondays to Fridays. There are a few "park and ride" locations for commuters to leave their car for the day to take the bus into Saint John and along with other standing bus stops along the way.

Notable people

• Randy Jones - Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played eight seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, Tampa Bay Lightning and Winnipeg Jets.