Little Canada
Elmire Jolicoeur and her husband were the first French family to live in Berlin
Most of Berlin’s residents today are Franco-American. Their ancestors came here from Canada seeking a better life. There weren’t many jobs in Canada so they came here because of the mills. Many of the French came down from Canada on the trails that ended and ended up in Berlin. Many of the men worked in the woods or on the river when they got down here. The French first settled over by the Good Shepherded Parish (St. Anne’s) and then latter on wanted to create a “Little Canada” over on the east side. Church was said in French instead of English. Classes in the catholic schools on the east side were held in French. Back then, if the nuns heard you speak in English there would be a huge punishment. Latter on it was changed to French for half a day and the other half was in English. The west side, when their houses got too small to support their huge families they simply built another floor and expended upwards. Most of Berlin’s residents still speak French and their culture still influences the city to this day. (Image from Poof Tardiff)
 The Savard family, one of Berlin's first french families (Image from www.gsavard.home.comcast.net)  Elmire Jolicoeur in her 80's 
Joseph Lavertu purchased several cows and started a milk route, which he kept up for 17 years.
E. A. Steady, who at the age of 21, under innumerable difficulties, formed an organization known as the Berlin Brass Band, the first brass band to be established in Berlin.
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 George Rousseau and his wife, Lea Filteau, two immigrants from Canada (Image from www.gsavard.home.comcast.net)  Elmire Jolicoeur in her 80's 
Jules Parent, Arthur Parent, and Albert Parent
J. Fred Bell, along with Phillip St. Laurent, furnished street cars as a means of transportation for the early men and woman of Berlin.
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Lazare Croteau and children. Lazare was born in Black Lake, P.Q. in 1875 and came to Berlin in 1893. (Image donated)
The St. Anne's Church of the Good Shepherded Parish
(Image from Poof Tardiff)
In 1860, The St. Anne parish was organized but did not have a full time church. In 1881, Reverend Father Gorman built a small wooden church that was named St. Anne’s. The first Franco-American pastor of St. Anne’s was the Reverend N. Cournoyer who arrived in 1885 and remained 14 years. During his administration he did the finishing touches of the church, built a sacristy and a presbytery, opened classes in the basement of the church and a little later he built a convent and a school. He then invited the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary, St. Hyacinthe, Quebec, to take the direction of the school. At the death of Reverend Father Cournoyer in 1899, the Reverend Louis M. Laplante was named pastor. In April, the old church was moved to school Street and transformed into a school for the lower grades. On July 1, 1899, the contractor, M. H. Roy of Lewiston, began the work for the new, bigger church. The ceremony of blessing the corner stone of the new edifice took place on August 19, 1900. The Right Reverend G. A. Guertin, D. D., bishop of the diocese, officiated. On May 6, 1901, the first Mass was celebrated in the new brick church. The Church still stands today and is on the list of National Register of Historic Places.
 A view from the side of the original St. Anne’s Church |
 A frontal view of the original St. Anne’s Church (Image from Poof Tardiff) |
The Guardian Angel Church
(Image from Poof Tardiff)
The Guardian Angel Church was formed by a division of St. Anne’s parish on Aug. 15, 1917, when the Reverend G. A. Guertin assigned Reverend Father Leclerc to this pastorate. From Sept., 1917, to June, 1918, weekday services were held in a small building at the corner of Grafton and Champlain Streets. The Sunday services were conducted in City Hall. During this period, the present church building and the rectory were under construction. The bishop of the diocese dedicated the church in June, 1918. The people of the parish worked untiringly to make this program of construction possible. Mrs. Francis Seguin proved an exceptionally capable leader in this undertaking. The Reverend Father Leclerc was succeeded in December of 1921, by the Reverend O. F. Bousquet. The Guardian Angel Church is no longer used for Catholic Church services, but instead for Baptist services.
St. Joseph’s Church
(Image from www.berlinnh.home.comcast.net)
The nuns used the chapel in the basement of St. Joseph’s Catholic School until the Church was complete. St. Joseph’s Church was constructed in 1958 and was the last Catholic Church built in Berlin. It closed in 2000, as did the other Catholic Churches but the St. Anne’s is the only one to reopen.
