New Brunswick. Post Office Dept : New Brunswick was part of the British province of Nova Scotia (created out of what had been the French colony of Acadia) until 1784, when Nova Scotia was divided into two smaller British provinces: Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The first large group of anglophone settlers in the region were United Empire Loyalists who arrived in the 1780s. A post office opened in St. John in 1783, but it did not come under the official control of the General Post Office, London until 1785. From that year until 1851 the New Brunswick postal system was under control of the General Post Office London, through various postal officials. Until 1795 the Deputy Postmaster General of New Brunswick reported directly to the General Post Office, London, and other New Brunswick postmasters reported to him. He dealt with the Deputy Postmaster General of British North America only regarding land routes from Halifax to Quebec. From 1795 to 1815, the Postmaster of St. John (who was not called the Deputy Postmaster General of New Brunswick) reported to the Deputy Postmaster of British North America, and other New Brunswick postmasters reported to him. It is thought that Postmasters General of British North America governed the New Brunswick postal system until 1828, when the system came under the control of the Deputy Postmaster General of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
Postal rates were high in New Brunswick's early years and most mail in the province, an estimated 75%, was transported outside the official system, with the latter operating at a loss, in consequence. In 1843, following the recommendation of a committee that had investigated postal services in the province, postal service in New Brunswick became independent of Nova Scotia, with the Postmaster of St. John becoming the Deputy Postmaster General of New Brunswick and reporting directly to the General Post Office, London. This reform led to greater efficiency and was accompanied by reform in postal rates as well. In 1851, the postal system of the province became independent of the General Post Office, London, and the Deputy Postmaster General of New Brunswick became the Postmaster General of the province. That year the province also issued adhesive postage stamps for the first time. The office of Postmaster General of New Brunswick became a political appointment in 1856.
Internal routes in Nova Scotia began officially in 1783, when a second post office was opened in Shelbourne following an influx of Loyalists to that area. The seperation of Nova Scotia into the seperate British provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick was accompanied by a growing population, which in turn led to the establishment of several other post offices in the region, during the years 1784 to 1786. A Halifax to Quebec overland route was established by 1790. The War of 1812 meant that American privateers menaced the Bay of Fundy, and postal services between Halifax and Fredericton were forced to operate via Truro, Parsborough, Cumberland (Amherst), Westmoreland and Sussex Vale. In 1817, Falmouth packets ceased calling at Halifax during the Winter months, so a post office opened at St. Andrews for mail from Britain forwarded to New York, then Robbinston, Maine, then St. Andrews. As the population increased during the Nineteenth Century, so did postal services, with several opening in 1825. By 1841, there were 23 post offices in the province. In 1859, daily mail was established between Halifax and St. John. New Brunswick mail to British Columbia and the Northwest Territories had to go through the United Kingdom until 1865, when the provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia arranged for it to be forwarded through the United States. The encyclopedia of British Empire postage stamps.
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