Goguen Mill
The story of the Goguen mill begins with its first owner, Éric Goguen. Born in 1914, Éric entered the job market at an early age, and throughout his life worked in many trades, including lumberjack, lobster fisherman, farm produce peddler, pulpwood trucker and sawmill owner.
Eric began working in the forestry industry in the 1930s. He worked in logging camps, then became an employee of the Irving company.
In 1945, he acquired a mobile mill that he could transport in his truck. In this way, Éric travels all over the southeastern part of the province to cut wood. He took advantage of his travels to buy woodlots, cut trees and obtain cutting rights on privately-owned lots.
In 1949, Éric decided to build his own sawmill on the present site in Cocagne. Having gained experience and made a profit with his mobile mill, he was able to use his knowledge to succeed in this profession. However, it wasn’t until the early 1960s that his business really took off. It was then that Éric hired professional sawyer Willie Boucher.
The equipment on display at the Village historique acadien was purchased by Éric Goguen in 1945 from an individual in Shemogue. The sawmill’s engine, dating from the 1940s, is an International 125 horsepower diesel engine.
Finally, Eric’s firm has become a family business, as his sons are an integral part of the company.
As for the building at the Village historique acadien, it’s a reproduction that was built in 2008 and officially opened to the public at the agricultural fair that same year. It represents a circular sawmill typical of the 1930s-1940s in New Brunswick’s Acadia region.
- Dimensions of 24 feet by 60 feet to accommodate specific equipment
- Construction on stilts
- The gable roof covered with sheet metal
- Numerous openings
- The loading ramp
- Original Goguen equipment, manufactured by Oxford Foundry & Machine Co. of Oxford, Nova Scotia
- Building housing the 48-inch circular saw
- 18-foot carriage equipped with adjuster and friction mechanism for automatic forward and reverse movement
- Conveyor to expel sawdust to the outside
- John Deere 4239D diesel engine
