Saltscapes: Canada’s East coast magazine

May/June 2001 Vol. 2 No. 3

Folks: a piece of our history

Story by Jude Carson

Photography courtesy of the Rothesay Living Museum Collection -- a partnership between the Town of Rothesay and Rothesay High School

The story of the Paris crew, the New Brunswick rowers who captured international fame in 1867, is well known thanks to a television Heritage Moment’s re-enactment. The Saint John foursome stunned audiences at the World’s Fair in Paris by humiliating the best of the French, British, and university rowing crews.

But there is more to the story of the Paris crew, including events that resulted in a name change for a New Brunswick village and a link with rowing that continues to this day.

Rowing was a popular spectator sport in the 1800s. Thousands of people turned out for races, many to bet on the outcomes. The Paris four - Robert Fulton, Elijah Ross, Samuel Hutton, and George Price - continued to be victorious, until they lost by a yard to a British challenge at Lachine, Que. in 1870.

They demanded a rematch. That race, which came to be known as the "Great Race," took place on the Kennebecasis Rover in 1871.

The British team was again led by one of England’s most famous rowers, James Renforth, of Newcastle upon Tyne. He was the stroke, the person who set the rowing pace for the boat, and he was one of the best. The race was scheduled for the early morning of August 24^th. Newspaper reports of the day described how thousands of people traveled long before dawn from Saint John to the river community known as The Chalet. Bandstands were erected to hold the throngs, and the river was filled with every type of vessel.

It was 7:34 a.m. when the two boats surged away from the starting line to race a six-mile course. The Saint John rowers maintained a confident lead from the beginning and the crowds roared as the crossed the finish line in just over 39 minutes.

However, the British boat had already pulled into shore, with an ailing James Renforth. According to the newspaper, Renforth "dropped his oar,, threw up an arm and would have fallen overboard had he not been caught by Kelly, who supported him, while Percy and Chambers rowed the shell ashore."

Many spectators thought that the English crew had thrown the race, and loudly vented their feelings, until they saw Renforth being carried ashore by his mates. Within hours, Renforth was dead from an apparent stroke. His companions were devastated. Flags throughout the city were lowered to half-mast, and the routine celebratory bonfires were absent that night. The Saint John crew paid its respects to the British rowers and presented them with money collected after the race. The local organizing committee handled the arrangements for transporting Renforth and his mates home to England.

The Chalet was subsequently renamed Renforth in honour of the ill-fated rower. It amalgamated with several others in the 1990s to form the town of Rothesay. Still, the community continues to remember the Great Race on special anniversaries. Sprints between local crews and representatives of James Renforth'’ club in Newcastle, England are featured. The most recent race was held in 1996 during events marking the race’s 125^th anniversary. A bronze replica of the Paris crew’s scull was erected on the shore of the Kennebecasis River, a permanent reminder of the community’s link with rowing history.