When Oscar Wilde Was Heckled In Fredericton
On October 5th, 1882, Oscar Wilde arrived in Fredericton to kick off his tour of The Maritimes. To call the city’s reaction to him…
July 21, 2026
1800s Fredericton
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Duffy’s Hotel: The Wildest Hotel in New Brunswick
“If you're longing for fun and enjoyment Or inclined to go out on a spree, Come along with me over to Boiestown On the…
April 21, 2026
1800s Fredericton Long Read
A Pompous Parisian’s Misadventures In The Maritimes
A 300-year-old travel diary reveals what life really looked like in our region's first capital. Map of Port Royal, now called Annapolis Royal, dating…
April 13, 2026
1600s and Before Bay of Fundy Nova Scotia Long Read
The Night The Crocodiles Attacked
A Fredericton Commando’s Second World War Victory Had The Japanese On The Run. Then Came The Crocodiles. Frederictonian Bruce Wright’s (left) idle daydreaming during…
March 17, 2026
1900s Fredericton Strange Tales War Long Read
Kethro The Barber’s Curious Singing Career
One of the oldest photos of Fredericton’s Christ Church Cathedral, taken in 1857. Ten years after this photo was taken, the letters of British…
February 16, 2026
1800s Fredericton Strange Tales Long Read
New Years A Century Ago
One hundred years ago, Maritimers rang in the New Year with optimism, oddball traditions, and a world on the brink of change (Provincial Archives…
December 30, 2025
1900s Christmas Fredericton Saint John Long Read
The Forgotten Christmas Traditions of Old New Brunswick
Many of our beloved holiday traditions are surprisingly young. For example the old Loyalists would have been baffled at what a tree was doing…
December 9, 2025
1700s Christmas Long Read
The Hero of Priestman Street
Fredericton’s Bryan Priestman survived two world wars — only to lose his life on Remembrance Day, trying to save an eight-year-old boy. (Provincial Archives…
November 7, 2025
1900s Fredericton War Long Read Popular
My Classmate Who Never Came Home
Colin Wilmot's photo in our high school yearbook. Back in high school, I sat next to a warm, funny, kind-hearted soul named Colin Wilmot.…
November 4, 2025
1900s Fredericton War Long Read
The Great Fredericton Fire
This tapestry depicting the Great Fire of Fredericton today hangs in Fredericton's City Hall, in the council chambers. (Or, at least it did when…
September 23, 2025
1800s Fredericton Long Read
Forgotten Pioneers on Canada’s East Coast
Long before the French or English arrived in Canada, vast numbers of Basques fished the waters. They weren't colonists though, but more like seasonal…
July 29, 2025
1600s and Before Long Read
The Mysterious East: The Magazine That Shook Up The Maritimes
The cover of the first ever edition of The Mysterious East — a rebellious 1960s counterculture magazine published out of a Fredericton apartment. With…
June 24, 2025
1900s Forgotten Ruins Fredericton Long Read
The Search For Lost Boy Albert Smythe
A collection of headlines from newspapers about the serch for missing child Albert Smythe in 1922. Today, a missing child is a huge deal.…
June 3, 2025
1900s Fredericton Long Read
Malobiannah and The Destroyer: The Heroine of Grand Falls
Grand Falls name in Wəlastəkwey is Chik-un-ik’-a-bik, which means “The Destroyer.” The name refers back to the story of a young woman named Malobiannah,…
April 29, 2025
1600s and Before War Women Long Read Popular
The Night Fredericton’s Bridge Floated Away
Fredericton experienced a harrowing day of severe flooding that seemed to come out of nowhere with shocking speed in 1936, only to recede just…
April 22, 2025
1900s Fredericton Long Read
How a New Brunswick Inventor Revolutionized the Seas
A drawing of the Reindeer, New Brunswick inventor Benjamin Tibbits famous pride and joy. The important part was what was inside: the compound steam…
March 18, 2025
1800s Fredericton Long Read
The Found Love in a Time of Hate
Amidst the chaos of the Second World War, love blossomed between a young man and a young woman who met at a dance contest.…
February 11, 2025
1900s Fredericton War Women Long Read
The Canadian Sailor Who Witnessed Lincoln’s Assassination
A young sailor from Fredericton was on shore leave in Washington DC on April 14th, 1865. He spontaneously decided to see a play at…
February 4, 2025
1800s Fredericton Strange Tales War Long Read
The News Boys New Years Annual Address
My first ever job was a paperboy. I used to deliver the newspapers that Backyard History is published in. (That’s not relevant to the…
December 27, 2024
1800s Christmas Strange Tales Long Read
Christmas A Century Ago
Some exceptionally stylish women (note the scandelous new short haircuts) in 1924 posing painting toys. One century ago, many of the things we take…
December 18, 2024
1900s Christmas Long Read
Claus-trophobia and Santa’s Other Maritimes Misadventures
It turns out that Santa has had a remarkable number of strange misadventures in the Maritimes over the years. Here are four of them.…
December 10, 2024
1900s Christmas Saint John Strange Tales Long Read
Hector The Mischievous Bulldog
A sketch Juliana Horatia Ewing included in the letters she wrote while in Fredericton to her family in England of a canine character she…
December 3, 2024
1800s Fredericton Strange Tales Long Read
Prince Charles and Johnny Cash Met in a Maritimes Locker Room
The story behind this iconic photo of Prince Charles and Johnny Cash in a Fredericton locker room. (Provincial Archives of New Brunswick P733-4) Fredericton…
November 26, 2024
1900s Fredericton Strange Tales Long Read Popular
ANNOUNCEMENT: Book 3 ‘Rebellious Women In The Maritimes’ Is Out!
I’m thrilled to announce the launch of my new book, Backyard History: Rebellious Women in the Maritimes! This one’s for all of you who…
November 13, 2024
1600s and Before 1700s 1800s 1900s Women Long Read