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…
August 11, 2026
1800s Moncton Women Long Read
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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…
March 10, 2026
1800s Moncton Saint John 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…
January 20, 2026
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…
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
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,…
November 18, 2025
1900s Moncton Long Read Popular
The Cow, The Well & The Lost Treasure of Jolicure
A bizarre treasure hunt that was later nicknamed "New Brunswick's own Oak Island" kicked off when a cow fell down a mysterious structure on…
October 7, 2025
1800s Forgotten Ruins Moncton Long Read
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…
August 26, 2025
1900s Moncton Long Read
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…
August 19, 2025
1800s Moncton Long Read
‘Rocket’ Richard Goes To The Shediac Lobster Festival
The stars of the 1951 Shediac Lobster Festival. From left to right: Leah Cormier, Betty Amireault, Florine Borque (the Lobster Queen), Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard,…
July 1, 2025
1900s Moncton Long Read
Two Teachers’ Summer Vacation on the Brink of War
As Europe teetered on the brink of war in the Summer of 1939, two Moncton schoolteachers went on a carefree two-month-long vacation across that…
January 28, 2025
1900s Moncton War Women 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
Janet Webster’s Secret War
This is an abbreviated part of the centrepiece story of my new book, Rebellious Women In The Maritimes. Order your copy of the book…
November 13, 2024
1900s Moncton War Women Long Read
How 20 Men Changed Canadian Labour Forever
On October 11th, 1908, in an unassuming upstairs on Main Street in Moncton, 20 men — ten of whom were New Brunswickers — met…
August 28, 2024
1900s Moncton Long Read
Trouble With Traffic Lights
New Brunswick experienced some growing pains as more people began driving cars, including some remarkable struggles adapting to one particular new technology: the traffic…
August 9, 2024
1900s Moncton Saint John Long Read
The Flying Boats of Shediac
While Shediac, NB, briefly captivated the world's attention as a port for gigantic flying boats, dreams of becoming a port for regular transatlantic flights…
March 6, 2024
1900s Moncton Long Read
Moncton’s Quirky Ride to Modern Roads
When the provincial government refused to upkeep New Brunswick's roads, some citizens turned to forming local associations to fix their roads themselves, including the…
February 1, 2024
1900s Moncton Strange Tales Long Read
N. B.’s Most Dramatic Hockey Game
The Moncton Victorias, pictured in 1908 featuring captain J. E. Crockett, seen in the centre of the middle row, dominated the New Brunswick Hockey…
January 4, 2024
1900s Fredericton Moncton Long Read
Nancy New Year of the North Shore
Nancy New Year is a centuries old tradition which still survives today along New Brunswick's North Shore of a fairy, imagined here by the…
December 28, 2023
1800s Christmas North Shore Long Read Popular
Santa’s First Appearance In The Maritimes
A photo of Charles Sampson that appeared alongside a profile on him in the New Brunswick Reporter in 1874. Notably for the time, this…
December 20, 2023
1800s Christmas Fredericton Long Read
A Halifax Christmas Murder Mystery
On Christmas night in 1824, a drunk and lonely elderly man stumbled through Halifax’s dark, cold and icy streets. Edward Shea had come into…
December 13, 2023
1800s Christmas Nova Scotia Long Read
Terry Fox In Atlantic Canada
Statue of Terry Fox in St. John's, Newfoundland, where his Marathon of Hope first began. While Terry Fox’s ‘Marathon of Hope’ had begun with…
September 16, 2023
1900s Moncton Newfoundland Nova Scotia PEI Long Read