Just up the road from our campground in Lower Cape, New Brunswick, is the unique and special Albert County Museum & R.B. Bennett Commemorative Center featuring historical exhibits about the land, sea and people of Albert County scattered across eight original buildings on the original site of the 1845 Capital of Albert County, New Brunswick. We had arrived in Hopewell Cape just prior to the start of summer season and were fortunate that the Managing Director, Janet Clouston, kindly offered to open up on a day when the museum was closed, and give us a personal tour of several buildings. We felt so fortunate and were very glad to be able to visit!
What makes this museum special are the many historical artifacts contributed by locals who have lived for generations on the shores of the Petitcodiak River as it flows into the Bay of Fundy. And the many amazing individuals who were born and lived here! Upon visiting, it is clear that this museum is treasured by the community and the director shared that locals have been so generous with their donations, the museum can only accept paper records at this time.
Ms. Clouston also shared that many years ago, in 1845 — across the ocean — Queen Victoria named the county for her husband, Prince Albert, who has no other ties to the area!
The Victory Canons: Captured German WWI War Guns
Of special note, are the WWI guns awarded to Albert County for their contributions to the war effort.
- The captured First World War German 10.5cm Kanone 14 Serial Nr. 590 (1917) field gun, a rare light artillery cannon (only seven in the world today), was won by the people of Albert County in the Victory Loans Competition of 1919. They more than tripled their goal, raising more than $347,600 ($8,531,814 in 2024) in support of the cause.
- In 1920, the First World War German 7.7cm Feldkanone (Field Gun) 96 n.A. (neuer Art), was transported to Albert County from the battlefields of France in recognition of the courage and sacrifice of the people of Albert County, including having had one of the highest per capita enlistments of men in the Canadian Expeditionary Force.
As mentioned, we got to tour several of the buildings, including the County Courthouse (with separate entrance and gallery seating for women?!). The original courthouse was built along with the county jail in 1845 but the former had burned and was reconstructed in 1904. It’s quite an impressive building and one can easily imagine the 1907 axe murder case against Thomas Collins who was held in the dungeon of the nearby County Goal (jail). It was in the courthouse that we met a local gentleman who remembered playing in the area as child and climbing on the jail’s rooftop.
The Albert County Jail (Goal)
The original County Jail was built in 1845 and the second story added in 1902 to accommodate the gaol keeper’s family. The largest cell was used primarily as a debtor’s prison. People who could not afford to pay their taxes would be sent here until the taxes were paid. Each day the debtor was required to leave the to work off their debt and then return to the gaol at night. The alternative was to be considered and treated like a criminal which kept most debtors compliant. In addition, the building includes a criminal’s cell for more serious offenders and a dungeon. The latter cell was considered solitary confinement and has two sets of bars on the window and a ring in the floor for shackling the prisoner. This room sent a chill down our spines! The jail cell graffiti, which provides some insight into the individuals who had been incarcerated here, was discovered in 2008 after having been covered up since 1930.
Exhibition Hall
Built in 1980, the Exhibition Hall houses some of the larger artifacts, such as farm equipment, a life-size dinosaur replica, as well as several special exhibits, including a fascinating exhibit about Myrtle “Molly” Kool, who was born in Albert County and in 1939 became the first licensed female “Master Mariner” (sea captain) in North America.
Kerosine: Abraham Pineo Gesner, a Nova Scotian who lived and worked for many years in New Brunswick is credited with inventing kerosene. Gesner developed a method to distill kerosene from “albertite”, a mineral local to Albert County, and coal. He demonstrated the use of kerosine in a lamp during a public lecture in Charlottetown in 1846. Kerosene produced a brighter and cleaner light than coal or whale oil. Kerosene was also much less expensive than other fuels of the day and also much safer to use. If you are interested in the history of light over time, NPR has a 6 minute podcast about that mentions this Canadian inventor of kerosine and illustrates the significance of his discovery.
Prime Minister: Richard Bedford Bennett (1870-1947) was born and raised in Hopewell Cape, Albert County, New Brunswick. He served as Canada’s eleventh Prime Minister from 1930 to 1935, during the Great Depression. His greatest accomplishments include his many years of public service, his law career and the founding of the Bennett Jones LLP firm in Calgary, his many philanthropic activities and the founding of Canadian Institutions such as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and the Bank of Canada. A British Viscount, RB Bennett died and is buried in Mickleham, Surrey, England. He is the only deceased former Canadian Prime Minister not buried in Canada.
The Albert County Museum and RB Bennett Commemorative Center truly allowed us to “take a step back in time” and gave us a deeper appreciation for all that New Brunswick and the Canadian Maritimes have contributed to our world. The museum definitely is worth a visit—in season— between visiting Hopewell Rocks and seeing the Tidal Bore in Moncton.
We left the museum with a profound impression that a number of individuals have lived in the area from birth, or returned there to live, which is so foreign in our current society. Today’s immigration numbers alone are indicative of the vast numbers of people who are on the move, not to mention our own experience with family members scattered across the world. It is really quite moving to see the great love and pride that the locals have for the land, sea and their community. Who has an original 1845 County Capital preserved on the original site, along with the history from across generations? Quite special!
Leave a Reply