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The Story Behind ‘Farewell to Nova Scotia’

‘Farewell to Nova Scotia’ is a Maritimes anthem that has been performed by everyone from Stan Rogers to Stompin' Tom Connors; from Anne Murray…

1900s Nova Scotia Women Long Read Popular

The Ghost Ship Heather Bell

Little woods boats like the ones seen here in Fredericton in 1875 (this photo is taken from the south side looking towards the Nashwaak)…

1800s Saint John Long Read

The Maritimes’ Greatest Bank Robbery

The victim of The Maritimes most expensive bank robbery was the Prince Edward Island bank in 1881. It was, however, not as straight forward…

1800s PEI Saint John Long Read

The Ghost of Ryan’s Castle

A ridiculously wealthy and extremely eccentric dentist built a mansion in Hampton, New Brunswick. The ghost said to be guarding a hidden treasure on…

1900s Forgotten Ruins Saint John Strange Tales 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…

1900s Fredericton Strange Tales War Long Read

The Little Railway That Could

A photograph of the first train to arrive in St. Stephen, in 1867. Ten years earlier, the first train in New Brunswick had its…

1800s Moncton Saint John 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…

1800s Fredericton Strange Tales Long Read

Georgina Whetsel and the Backlash to Blackface

In the winter of 1889, Saint John threw itself a party and accidentally exposed some deeply uncomfortable truths about race, respectability and who was…

1800s Saint John Women Long Read

The Dorchester Penny Train Crash

One hundred and twenty nine years ago, New Brunswick suffered what was initially called a “terrible catastrophe” and its worst ever train wreck, leaving…

1800s Moncton Long Read Popular

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…

1900s Christmas Fredericton Saint John Long Read

How Was Magnetic Hill Discovered?

Magnetic Hill has been a New Brunswick icon since the 1930s and grew into a full attraction with a gift shop, zoo, water park,…

1900s Moncton Long Read Popular

Jesse Skuse’s Long Road Home

On these foggy Saint John streets in 1894, an eight-year-old girl was found crying, all alone. She had been abandoned by her adoptive parents.…

1800s Saint John Women 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…

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.…

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…

1800s Fredericton Long Read

Roadside Attractions of New Brunswick

You're cruising down a New Brunswick road, windows down, thinking about lunch, when suddenly — there it is. A giant concrete potato, rising out…

1900s Forgotten Ruins Strange Tales Long Read Popular

The Wreck of the Martha

Loyalists had to endure unimaginable hardships to make it to the safety of New Brunswick, and not all made it. One ship of refugees…

1700s Bay of Fundy Saint John War Long Read
Four Backyard History books against an archival photograph.

Backyard History books

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