Molus River, New Brunswick
Molus River is a settlement in Weldford Parish, New Brunswick on Route 116 on the Molus River.
History
[edit]Molus River had a post office named Moulies River 1867–1950 and named Molus River 1950–1970. In 1871, Molus River had a population of 150. In 1898, Molus River was a farming, fishing and lumbering settlement with 1 post office, 1 church and a population of 300.
Epsikitiáskuk is what the Mi’kmaq people of Elsipogtog First Nation called the Molus River as seen on old land grant documents at Provincial Archives New Brunswick.
A possible source for the word Molus is from the French language spoken by Acadian living in the Richibucto River area, with the word "moluёs" being a French word for a tidal flat mussel, a type of shellfish commonly found on muddy beaches along the river.
For a period from about 1850–1900 the name on maps was often spelled Moulies River and moulies[check spelling] is a type of coal shale that was harvested during the days of coal mining operations along the Coal Branch River, which is another tributary of the Richibucto River Estuary.[citation needed] There is also an old oral tradition that the river may have been named for a Henry Molus, an early settler or explorer in the area.