On the St. John river, a trading village was laid out in 1762 at Portland, now part of the city of St. John; and in 1763 an important agricultural community was formed farther up the river, at Maugerville, a few miles below Fredericton. In 1767 a census was taken of the province, and the total population was found to be over 13,000. Of these 1200 were in the territory afterwards forming part of the province of New Brunswick, and there were 500 in Prince Edward Island. The remaining number were in Nova Scotia proper. The first movement of immigration had now spent itself, and it was not until after the revolting colonies had gained their independence that any great accession was made to the population. The incoming of the Loyalists was an event of the first magnitude for the Maritime provinces. During the years 1783 and 1784, the population increased to threefold what it was when the migration from the revolted American colonies began. They took up lands in all parts of the provinces. Eighteen hundred householders made homes for themselves in and about Annapolis, while Digby, which until that time was quite unsettled, leaped into the position of a village with a population of 1300. Nearly all the settlements formed at this period had within them the elements of permanence, and they became the foundations of the towns, villages and farming communities which cover the Maritime provinces. Until the arrival of the Loyalists, there were practically no inhabitants east of Halifax and Colchester counties. Pictou was not entirely unoccupied, as a small group from Pennsylvania and Maryland had come into the district in 1765, who were joined by a few Highland Scotch families in 1773. But the total number was insignificant, and the two counties to the eastward, Antigonishe and Guysboro, were still practically in a state of nature. They were settled later by Scotchmen who came to Pictou and Prince Edward Island. New Brunswick benefited to a relatively greater extent than Nova Scotia by the Loyalist movement. At the close of the war, the number of English colonists in this province did not exceed 2500. These were scattered in small groups on Passamaquoddy bay, on the St. John river, and on the Chignecto bay and Petitcodiac river at the eastern end of the province. By 1787, when the Loyalists had settled themselves, there was a continuous line of settlements along the bay of Fundy from the United States boundary at the St. Croix river to St. John harbour, and with longer intervals onward to the eastern limits of the province. On the St. John river and tributaries over 9000 people were settled. The cities of St. John and Fredericton, and the towns of St. Stephen and St. Andrews sprang into existence during this period. On the north and east coasts of New Brunswick permanent settlement had begun, the people being mostly Acadians. There were small Scotch fishing settlements on the Miramichi and the Restigouche rivers.