A statue was unveiled earlier this week in honour of the late William Francis Ganong, a botanist and professor, who began exploring New Brunswick rivers as a teenager in St. Stephen in the early 1900s. (photo by Mark Downey)
New Brunswick botanist William Francis Ganong has been immortalized with a statue in St. Stephen where he grew up.
He was born in Carleton, New Brunswick in 1864, bettter known as the west side of Saint John. His father and uncle are the famous Ganong Brothers who founded the candy company.
Provincial historian Ronald Rees wrote a book about W.F. Ganong called ‘New Brunswick Was His Country”.
He described him as an explorer.
“He went everywhere. Up and down every river by canoe and he knew New Brunswick in a way that I suspect nobody else has ever known it,” Rees said.
Ganong was Havard-educated and spent time teaching there before moving on to Smith University in Massachusetts where he spent most of his career.
He returned home every summer to his sister cottage’s in Rothesay and continued his adventures up until his death in 1941.
On Wednesday, a bronze statue of W.F. Ganong was unveiled in St. Stephen. Rees attending the ceremony and considers the statue it a fitting tribute to the man.
“Quite a large statue, larger than life. Quite a detailed statue. It tells you a lot about Ganong’s life,” Rees said.
The bronze sculpture of Ganong was created by Darren Byers and Fred Harrison.
The project acknowledges the 125th anniversary of W. F. Ganong’s painstaking work in what eventually became New Brunswick.
Ganong published seven detailed studies of the province’s Indigenous and later place names, its mapping, settlements, historic sites, and boundaries between
1895 and 1906.
The Town of St. Stephen invites you to attend the unveiling on September 16th, 2020, of a bronze sculpture honouring the…
Posted by Town of St. Stephen on Thursday, September 10, 2020
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