Own the Maritimes best forgotten stories - discover the Backyard History books. Shop the books

Articles

Categories (6)
Showing stories in 6 categories – clear categories
24 stories are shown.

The Murder of Timothy McCarthy

For decades, Acadian singers would open a long, mournful ballad with those words in the song called “Le Meurtre de Timothy McCarthy,” which means…

1800s Long Reads Moncton Women

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

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

The Underground Lake of Albert County

The darkness goes deep in Albert County’s gypsum caves. In 1937, a reporter from the Telegraph-Journal descended into one on a tip from two…

1900s Forgotten Ruins Strange Tales

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

The Strange Journey of Louisa Journeaux

When 22-year-old Louisa Journeaux stepped into a rowboat one quiet Sunday evening, she couldn’t have imagined that the whole world would hear about it.…

1800s Newfoundland

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

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

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 Greatest Hits Moncton

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

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 Greatest Hits Moncton

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

The Mystery Crater

A photo of the "Mystery Crater" in its heyday. (Provincial Archives of New Brunswick) New Brunswick was once home to a quirky popular tourist…

1900s Forgotten Ruins Strange Tales

Return of the Heroine’s Granddaughter

Janet Webster gave her life in the French Resistance. This summer, her granddaughter, Sophie Roche (right) returned to New Brunswick to rediscover the family’s…

1900s Moncton

The First Ever Murder in Moncton

Headlines from 1892 announcing that, after 220 years, Moncton had its first ever murder. It started with a North Shore break-in. Then another. Then…

1800s Long Reads Moncton

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 Greatest Hits Strange Tales

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

The First Murder in New Brunswick

New Brunswick’s first-ever murder took place in 1784, only two months after the province was created. The murder weapon was an ordinary table fork.…

1700s Bay of Fundy Saint John Strange Tales Women
Four Backyard History books against an archival photograph.

Backyard History books

Atlantic Canada's history was never this much fun!

Discover all 4 Backyard History books — the stories your history class never told you!

Shop the books