In the spring of 1783 the first contingent of U.E. Loyalists sailed in British ships to the St. John’s River in New Brunswick. Some families came by boat with long portages, while others traveled most of the long, laborious route on foot, a walk that would consume many weeks.

The land in New Brunswick was not as favorable as they had first hoped for and within the next decade they were enticed to move again due to a proposition from Lieutenant-Governor John Graves-Simcoe.