December 2019

Free Masonry Masonry began as a guild for stone masons who built the castles and cathedrals of Medieval Europe.  If you are a mason you have a job for the duration of the work, but, after the building is built or repaired, there might not be any mason work in that town for decades, you […]

Loyalist House, St. John, NB The well-preserved example of 19th century United Empire Loyalist architecture in New Brunswick, known as Loyalist House, is found on the corner of Germain and Union Streets in Saint John, surrounded by modern apartment buildings. The wealthy merchant David Merritt purchased the land, which at that time was just within […]

Halifax Citadel First Fort – The first of four forts was established in 1749 and played a pivotal role over the next decade in the Anglo-French rivalry in the region.  Various fortifications at Halifax protected Protestant settlers against raids by the French, Acadians, and primarily the Mi’kmaq in a conflict known as Father Le Loutre’s War. Second […]

In the early 1800s, as Halifax went through a boom, the parishioners from St. Paul’s Anglican Church saw a need for a school to help keep the local children occupied during the day. In 1818 the National School, Canada’s first free public school, opened its doors to both boys and girls growing up in the […]

The Courthouse and Gaol The Charlotte County Courthouse in St Andrew’s, New Brunswick was built in 1786.  It was a wooden building with four cells on the bottom floor and the courthouse on the upper floor.  Since the cell floors were made of dirt many a criminal found ways to vacate the premises.  To alleviate […]