Facts about Saint John, New Brunswick

These might come in handy for an on-board trivia game:

• Established in 1785, Saint John was Canada's first incorporated city
• The population of the City of Saint John is approximately 70,000 (for perspective, the population of Ridgewood is just under 25,000)
• The first public museum in Canada was opened in Saint John in 1842; originally known as the Gesner Institute, today it is the New Brunswick Museum
• Kerosene oil was discovered by Saint John native Dr. Abraham Gesner, founder of the New Brunswick museum
• Although it had already been populated by aboriginal tribes, and later by immigrants from Europe, Saint John was largely built by American Loyalists who fled there in 1873 (you can visit Loyalist House on Union Street to learn more about them)
• The Great Fire of 1877 took place on June 20th, also known as "Black Wednesday"
• The oldest standing structure in Saint John, Sewell House, was built in 1791
• One hundred billion tons of water pour into the Bay of Fundy from the Atlantic Ocean every 12.4 hours, an amount equal in volume to all the water that flows in every river on earth in a 24 hour period

Links for more information:

Official Visitor Guide - Saint John

Tourism Saint John

Firsts of Saint John

Loyalist House