Retrieval Number: 7832/1/6/8
Plan of marsh lots in Sewer District No. 2 Parish of Sackville [New Brunswick].  Thomas C. Patterson, Commissioner of Sewers, August 17, 1874.
Mount Allison University Archives, Albert Anderson family fonds.
May be reproduced only with permission of Mount Allison University Archives

The marsh lots within the Town of Sackville Plan of 1761 were organized into Sewer Districts for the management of drainage and dyking. Commissioners of Sewers were appointed for each district and, along with judicial appointees and commissioners of highways, represented one of the earlier forms of local political organization in the Tantramar region. The earliest legislation allowed for the election of three commissioners, with one being responsible for assessing work to be done (usually in the spring or fall), arranging labour and materials, and assessing rates. This commissioner was often referred to as the commissioner of the particular district or area of marsh, as is the case with Thomas C. Patterson in this document. The second elected commissioner was responsible for record-keeping and correspondence while the third acted as advisor and could vote to break a tie in any decision-making. By the early 19th century, rates were assessed in proportion to the amount of marshland owned. Maps of the sewer districts were crucial in the planning of work to be done and provide us with a valuable record of the geographies of intensifying marsh agriculture.