 Albertite, a type of asphalt, was first found in Albert County in 1849 by the Canadian physicist Abraham Gesner, inventor of kerosene. Over 200,000 tonnes of the mineral were shipped to Boston within 30 years. Large deposits of gypsum found eight kilometres (five miles) from the mining site were shipped around the globe as well. The Petitcodiac River was used as the primary means for transporting the minerals at the time.
