Every village of any substance had a sawmill, many two, if water power was sufficient. Few were much larger than the size shown here. Because their drainage systems could sustain larger operations, Saint John, Chatham and Bathurst, all in New Brunswick, had large factories producing huge surpluses for export.
Whatever their location or size, mills were a focal point for the introduction of new technologies and the accumulation of the capital necessary for expansion of local commercial classes. By attracting capital and jobs they contributed to the evolving landscape of work and labour organization. Outside the major centres there was little attempt to organize mill workers, but in Saint John they quickly demonstrated a labour consciousness that made them the early leaders in industrial unionism.
