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
Articles
Categories (4)
Showing stories in 4 categories – clear categories
24 stories are shown.
The Accidental Longest Covered Bridge In The World
Today, the Hartland Covered Bridge is the longest covered bridge in the world — a pretty remarkable feat for a bridge that was never…
July 27, 2026
1900s Strange Tales
New Brunswick’s Accidental First Provincial Park
A monument marking the 50th anniversary of the provincial park system being unveiled at Glenwood in 1985. At this event, Arnold Mann, who built…
July 6, 2026
1900s North Shore Long Read
The Sunken Treasure Ship In The Bay of Fundy
There is more than lobster to be found in the waters beyond Dipper Harbour, where this curious 1960 tourism promo was shot. A century…
June 30, 2026
1800s Bay of Fundy War Long Read
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…
June 22, 2026
1900s Nova Scotia Women Long Read Popular
The Great Sussex Shale Gas Swindle
Albert County was once a real hub of a booming oil industry, however, not everyone it attracted was strictly speaking above-board. One curious individual…
June 2, 2026
1900s Strange Tales Long Read
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…
May 19, 2026
1900s Forgotten Ruins Strange Tales Long Read
Who Killed the Maritimes’ Greatest Flying Ace?
These articles on the website are (mostly) the articles from the Backyard History newspaper column, which have a strict 1,000 words/week limit. In the…
May 12, 2026
1900s War Long Read
Marilyn Monroe’s Secret Trip to Miramichi
Find a longer version of this story – and many others – in the fourth Backyard History book ‘Mysterious Stories From Atlantic Canada’s Past,’…
May 5, 2026
1900s North Shore Women 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…
March 31, 2026
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…
March 17, 2026
1900s Fredericton Strange Tales War Long Read
Bogged Down In Cape Breton: Beryl Markham’s “Beastly Flight”
Hear a much longer (and much better) version of this story on the Backyard History Podcast, starring Stephanie Tait voicing Beryl Markham and producer…
February 24, 2026
1900s Nova Scotia Women Long Read
The Woodman’s Ghost
A crew of woodsmen pause for a photo deep in the forest, axes in hand and snow at their feet. What they did out…
February 3, 2026
1800s North Shore PEI Long Read
The Curse of the Anna Currier
A ship drifted ashore near St. Martins in January 1884, her crew missing and her cargo untouched. The mystery of what happened aboard the…
January 6, 2026
1800s Bay of Fundy 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
Clara Dennis Comes Home to Confront Her Halifax Explosion Legacy
Here we see Clara Dennis during her solo Nova Scotia roadtrip that formed the backbone of her internatsional bestselling book "Down In Nova Scotia."…
December 2, 2025
1900s Nova Scotia Women Long Read Popular
Nearer to Heaven on Sugarloaf
Joseph Lacasse had been told his whole life what he couldn't do. Born with one leg nearly a foot shorter than the other, he'd…
November 24, 2025
1900s North Shore 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 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
Blue Water: The Atlantic Canadian Film That Hollywood Sank
Most “lost films” from the early days of cinema vanished by accident as reels were destroyed, misplaced, or left to decay. But Blue Water’s…
October 14, 2025
1900s Bay of Fundy Saint John Long Read
The Great Fire of Miramichi
New Brunswick Legends Tapestries – Great Fire of the Miramichi, 1996, Designed by Micheal McEwing, Woven by Ivan H Crowell. (Provincial Archives of New…
September 30, 2025
1800s North Shore Long Read
The Hatchet Buried In The Stream
As he neared the end of his long and eventful life, legendary Wolastoqiyik Sachem (chief) Gabriel Acquin sat down with UNB professor Dr. Edward…
September 8, 2025
1800s War Long Read