If you’ll excuse another foreigner butting in, this post piqued my curiosity because I’ve been trying to uphold a similar distinction for “St.” in Arthur St. Clair, whose name is all over the Midwest.
I dug around and found that the Municipal District of St. Stephen is named after the Town of St. Stephen, which was named after a St. Stephen Parish, spelled thus in the 1786 act of establishment:
The said county called Charlotte County shall be divided into seven towns or parishes, as follows, viz. the first town or parish to be called, known and distinguish’d by the name of St. Stephen, beginning at the southerly bounds of lot number one hundred and thirteen, on the west side of Oak Point Bay, thence bounded northerly and easterly by the southerly line of the said lot, and of lot number one in the back location, the easterly lines of the grant to Nehemiah Marks and others to the most northly angle of said grant, and by the continuation of the northerly line of said grant to the river St. Croix, thence westerly and southerly by the bank or shore of said river, and the westerly shore of Oak Point Bay, to the first bounds[…].
Unfortunately, this act alternates freely between Saint and St.:
And whereas by like letters patent in like manner since passed, another tract or district of land lying within this province, on both sides the river Saint John, bounded on the south by the county of Saint John, on the west by Charlotte county, on the east by the counties of Westmorland and Northumberland, and on the north by a line running south-west and north-east from the south point of Spoon Island, lying in Saint John’s river, was also erected into one distinct and separate county, to be called and known by the name of King’s County.
And whereas by like letters patent in like manner since passed, another tract or district of land lying within this province, on both sides the river St. John, bounded on the south-east by King’s county, on the south-west by Charlotte county, on the north-east by the county of Northumberland, and on the north-west by the south boundary line of Burton township, and by a continuation of the said line to the north-east and south-west until it meets the counties of Northumberland and Charlotte respectively; was also erected into one distinct and separate county to be called and known by the name of Queen’s County.
[…]
The said county called the County of Saint John, exclusive of the city of Saint John, shall be divided into three towns or parishes as follows, viz. the first town or parish to be called, known and distinguish’d by the name of Portland, bounded on the south by the Bay of Fundy, the eastern shore of the harbour of St. John, and the several northern bounds and limits of the said city of St. John[…].
Unless the S[ain]t John River changes its name midcourse and the the County of Saint John has both a City of Saint John and a City of St. John, it’s probably safe to say this was a stylistic convention, a contraction. Just to be sure, the act incorporating the Town of S[ain]t Stephen, as amended in 1884, consistently spells it Saint:
An Act to amend and consolidate the Act 34th Victoria, Chapter 20, incorporating the Town of Saint Stephen, and the several Acts in amendment thereof.
And yet, in 2023, the town was renamed to the Municipal District of St. Stephen, never acknowledging the longer spelling:
The Town of St. Stephen, which is renamed Municipal District of St. Stephen, is continued.
This is reflected in the Canadian Geographical Names Database, which lists a St. Stephen town inside a Saint Stephen parish.
Something for everyone to like.
