Nelson-Miramichi is a suburban neighbourhood in the city of Miramichi, New Brunswick, Canada. Prior to municipal amalgamation on January 1, 1995, Nelson-Miramichi was an incorporated village in Northumberland County and one of the oldest European settlements in the Miramichi Valley. Earl J. English’s history of the community titled Nelson and Its Neighbours: 300 Years on the Miramichi, published in 1987, lists it as "one of the oldest settlements on the Miramichi. It goes back to the time of William Davidson (lumberman)." English wrote that "According to J. L. O’Brien, the Parish of Nelson was first known as Dower’s Settlement, Southwest." History The community of Nelson took its name after Admiral Lord Nelson of the Royal Navy who died at the Battle of Trafalgar. English notes that there is a "legend that the spars for Lord Nelson’s flagship Victory came from the Miramichi. There were some men from Nelson who sailed with Lord Nelson: Joseph Russell who was midshipman at the Battle of the Nile on the HMS Vanguard (1787)." English quotes historian William Francis Ganong as saying that an early Recollect Mission originally thought to have been establish at Burnt Church was actually at Nelson around 1686. The history of Nelson is closely tied to that of Beaubears Island directly across from the heart of Nelson. The island was used as an encampment by Boieshebert whose followers set up while fleeing the English after the expulsion of the Acadians. They camped there while heading for Quebec. Later the island, which takes its name from Boieshebert misspelled in English form, was used extensively for shipbuilding. By 1875, George Burchill and Sons had become extremely influential in the lumbering business and were a mainstay in the village almost to the present. In 1882 Harvey Flett established a brick yard which was later run by the Loggies until 1932. Over the years there were a number of families who were involved in lumbering and logging. Nelson also had a woolen mill, carding mill, a tannery, schools churches, stores, post office, ferries, tugboats, a railroad connection, Beaubear's Co-op Store, fire-hall, village office, rec center, outdoor skating rink, two softball fields and a large modern papermill. John James Fraser who was born on Beaubear's Island became Lieutenant-Governor in 1893, and in the late 1940s and early 50s Joseph Leonard O'Brien also became Lieutenant-Governor of the province. G. Percival Burchill was a member of the Senate