The development of Fredericton expanded heavily as the founders would have hoped, especially with the opening of Kings College, which is now the University of New Brunswick. This was also the first English speaking university in Canada. The last notable historic venue built was actually the Christ Cathedral Church which was notable for its Revival Gothic style. This led to Fredericton achieving its city status since it was a gorgeous church as well as having a large amount of catholic people attending the church. This brought more people into the city, and members of the church wanted to live close by, and near the other members. 

One of the main issues around New Brunswick in the 1900s was the waterways and that included who owned the water and the fish in it. Having a river such as the St Johns river, and being so close to the James Bay, regulations are waterways and fishing would become an issue. The government could not have people doing whatever they wanted as well as not wanting to be too strict. This became a problem because to the south, the United States did not have the same laws. This led to Fredericton being able to set their own laws on fishing. This could either be good or bad, depending on who you were, and what you had invested in fishing. Some fisherman got edged out of the market and would have to find a new way to provide for their families. This was also a time where sport fishing started to rise in popularity which could benefit the province. People paying for equipment as well as licenses, brought a whole new market to the province that had previously not been there before. This is good for the economy as well as still allows the population to have this leisure activity that they have started to enjoy. 

Fredericton also has a very large history of indigenous people. The indigenous people lived mostly off of the St John River.  They fished for bass, sturgeon and most importantly salmon in the summer months. They also did a fair amount of corn harvesting as well as picking berries. During the cold winter months, they would go north to hunt moose and bear. Some of these practices still lasted as a way to either make money or survive for a very long time, even to present day. The first settlements were in 1691 when European settlers saw the advantages of this land that sat right on the river. Eventually agriculture, saw mills and lumbering decreased the supply of large game for the indigenous people and it was getting in the way of their traditional way of life. This led to two reserves being made, St Mary’s and Oromocto.

Another notable part of Fredericton history is that in 1862, Alexander “Boss” Gibson began building his own industrial empire. This included a lumber mill as well as one of the biggest cotton mills in Canada. It was fully equipped with homes for the workers as well as a church and railway. Him being independently in business could not keep up with the major companies and was forced to sell in 1908. This site still exists today and helps to form the National Historical District.