William Joseph Kent (December 24, 1860 – September 8, 1943) was a business and political leader in Bathurst, New Brunswick in Canada. Kent's business enterprises were significant in the economic development of the region, and Kent was a founding alderman in Bathurst's first town council for sixteen years before serving as mayor of Bathurst for two terms. Family background Kent was born to Hannah Branch and Joseph Kent. His grandfather (also named Joseph Kent) was an immigrant from Cornwall, England and was a pioneer in the development of the mining industry in New Brunswick. However, having not found sufficient success in mining, in 1842 the elder Joseph Kent bought land near Tetagouche and prospered as a farmer and blacksmith. The younger Joseph Kent bought his own farm near Bathurst in 1873. The Joseph Kent Farm, where W.J. Kent lived as a child, is now on the Canadian Register of Historic Places. W.J. Kent & Company, Ltd. Kent's department store In the early 1880s, W.J. Kent worked in the company store of the West Bathurst lumber firm of R.A. and J. Stewart. Wanting to open his own store, Kent went to Saint John to study at Kerr's Business College. In 1884, at the age of 23, Kent opened a small wood-frame store in downtown Bathurst and organized W.J. Kent & Company, Ltd. Catering primarily to the local farming community, it was the first general goods store in the area that was not owned by one of the large mining or lumber companies. The store proved popular, and in 1901, Kent built a larger brick building at 150 Main Street to house his growing enterprise. In 1914, the store was expanded again, and a third story was added to the complex creating what was then the largest department store in New Brunswick. Founded by Kent's son, J. Harold Kent, Kent's department store ran a successful catalogue business that rivaled Eaton's at its peak. The products offered for sale ranged from flour and animal feed to automobiles. In the 1950s and 1960s Kent's catalogue became nationally known as a supplier of mining equipment and supplies. A copy of the 1927 catalogue is in the collection of the Nepisiquit Centennial Museum. In 1953, the company opened the first large supermarket in Bathurst next door to the department store on Main Street. It remained in operation until 1974. Kent's department store was a fixture of