St. Joseph’s College was founded in 1864 by Father Camille Lefebvre of the Congrégation de Sainte-Croixon on the site of the closed St. Thomas Seminary. It was a bilingual college that educated a lot of Acadians over the years.
In 1868, New Brunswick allowed the college to award degrees and it got university status in 1888. In 1896, another building was constructed in Father Lefebvre’s honor. The building contained an auditorium.
The college kept growing. In 1933 a fire destroyed the college with the exception of a fire-proof chapel built in 1932. The college was then renovated and enlarged.
The university was closed in the 1960s when the whole college moved onto the University of Moncton campus .
The university facilities are now owned by New Brunswick and house the Memramcook Learning and Vacation Resort.
There is also a national historic site, Monument Lefebvre on the site. The monument has history about the Acadian community.
