Located on the banks of the Nashwaak River on the outskirts of the City of Fredericton’s northside, Marysville is distinct from the rest of the city. Once a textile manufacturing town, the streets are lined with rows of brick houses initially built for the employees, all arranged around the community’s staple—the Marysville mill building.
Opened in the 1885, the mill building tumultuously and unstably operated as a textile mill until the mid-1970s, and was refurbished into offices for the provincial government in the 1980s. Since then, the City of Fredericton and the federal government have produced a number of heritage and public history projects and plaques [1]. However, like other top-down heritage projects in Canada, Marysville’s heritage exclusively historicizes “celebratory stories of the birthplace of industry”[2]. In Marysville, the plaques that line the community's streets and the published walking guides centre their narratives on the era of Alexander “Boss” Gibson, the 19th industrialist who founded the town. Visitors learn about Gibson and his capitalist exploits in the railroad, lumber and textile industries. In doing so, other important stories are peripheralized; the heritage projects rarely involve the voices of community members and, subsequently, leave out lived experiences—whether good, bad, industrial or post-industrial.
This listening guide will step away from Gibson and foreground long-term Marysville residents' peripheralized experiences, memories and stories. Through this guide, listeners will follow the narrator through the neighbourhood and will hear from residents. Inspired by Lisa Gasior’s “Sounding Griffintown” project, the guide also incorporates soundscape recordings and imagined sounds of the past (sound effects) to immerse the listener into the Marysville soundscape described by the interviewees [3].
If you have chosen to make your way to Marysville for the walking tour, please note the following instructions:
If you are listening off-site, it is highly recommended that you wear headphones when listening to the guide.
Please note that audio levels vary between track. It is reccomended that you begin the track at a low volume and adjust accordingly
Introduction:
Introduction - 2025-04-16, 5.33 PM.mp3
Track #1. Marysville Mill:
Marysville Mill Tour - Complete.mp3
Track #2. Corner of Morrison and Allen Streets: