When Did the St. John River Expeditions Happen? Key Early 1600s Explorations

There wasn't a single "St. John River expedition"—rather, a series of early 17th-century French explorations of the St. John River (in present-day New Brunswick, Canada) led by Samuel de Champlain and associates.

Notable Expeditions

• 1604 – Champlain's First Expedition: Champlain, with Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons, explored the Bay of Fundy and entered the St. John River mouth. They named it Rivière Saint-Jean (feast of St. John the Baptist, June 24).
• 1605 – Champlain & de Mons' Second Expedition: More thorough ascent of the river. Champlain mapped reaches upstream, noted the "Grand Falls" (Grand-Sault), and assessed settlement potential.
• 1606–1607: Further seasonal explorations from the Port-Royal (Annapolis Royal) base, using the St. John as a route to interior fur trade networks.

Context

These expeditions were part of the Acadia colonization effort (1604–1613). The St. John River was a critical corridor connecting the Bay of Fundy to the interior Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) territories and the broader fur trade.

Later Significance

The river became a contested borderland (French/English, later US/Canada), a Loyalist settlement route (1783), and a timber highway (19th century). But the foundational European explorations occurred in 1604–1605 under Champlain.

If you're referencing a specific later expedition (e.g., military, survey, scientific), please clarify—the early Champlain voyages are the canonical "St. John River expeditions."