Barbour's General Store

Last updated
Barbour's General Store Museum in Saint John, New Brunswick. BarboursGeneralStore Saint John.jpg
Barbour's General Store Museum in Saint John, New Brunswick.

Barbour's General Store was a museum and tourist hub in Saint John, New Brunswick. It was an authentic 19th-century general store building, preserved and used to recreate a Victorian-era educational experience for visitors. It was located at the intersection of King Street and Prince William Street just outside the Trinity Royal Historic Conservation Area in the city's uptown. On August 22, 2015 the shop was re-opened to the public as a functioning business and local information centre. [1] On June 13, 2023 the building was proposed to demolish after a fire in January 2022. [2] It was dismantled in July 2023. [3]

Contents

History

The museum was founded in 1967. The store itself was originally built in the mid-1800s, in Sheffield, New Brunswick. It operated as a general store from the 1860s to the 1940s. [4] The building was relocated to Saint John in the late 1960s, and was towed down the Saint John River. [5] The preservation of the building, and the recreation of the general store with historic artifacts, was funded by the G.E. Barbour Company, for which it is now named.

The idea for the museum came to local businessman Ralph Brenan, who worked for G.E. Barbour. He was dismayed to discover that his granddaughter did not know what coal was, or many other common items from his own childhood. He sought to remedy the lack of awareness of local history for his granddaughter and other children of the area by establishing a museum in the centre of Saint John. On January 25, 2022, the building was severely damaged by a fire. Due to the incident the store closed and later was demolished in June 2023. [6]

Features

The general store was recreated with historic artifacts that would have been seen on the shelves of a local shop of the era. Goods such as clothing, shoes, hats, preserved tobacco, medicines, household items such as tools, lamps, boardgames and irons were on display, as well as local items such as Surprise Soap, made in the nearby town of St. Stephen, and Crosby's Molasses, made in Saint John.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint John, New Brunswick</span> City in New Brunswick, Canada

Saint John is a seaport city located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It is Canada's oldest incorporated city, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of George III. The port is Canada's third-largest by tonnage with a cargo base that includes dry and liquid bulk, break bulk, containers, and cruise. The city has a strong industrial base, including oil refining and manufacturing, matched with finance and tourism sectors and research institutions such as the New Brunswick Museum and the University of New Brunswick. Saint John was the most populous in New Brunswick until the 2016 census, when it was overtaken by Moncton. It is currently the second-largest city in the province, with a population of 69,895 over an area of 315.59 km2 (121.85 sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miami Circle</span> United States historic place

The Miami Circle, also known as The Miami River Circle, Brickell Point, or The Miami Circle at Brickell Point Site, is an archaeological site in Brickell, Miami, Florida. It consists of a perfect circle measuring 38 feet (11.5m) of 600 postmolds that contain 24 holes or basins cut into the limestone bedrock, on a coastal spit of land, surrounded by a large number of other 'minor' holes. It predates other known permanent settlements on the East Coast. It is believed to have been the location of a structure, built by the Tequesta Indians, in what was possibly their capital. Discovered in 1998, the site is believed to be somewhere between 1,700 and 2,000 years old.

5th Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown, formerly known as and commonly referred to as CFB Gagetown, is a large Canadian Forces Base covering an area over 1,100 km2 (420 sq mi), located in southwestern New Brunswick. It is the biggest facility in Eastern Canada, and Canada's second-largest facility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kings Landing Historical Settlement</span> Historic area in New Brunswick, Canada

Kings Landing is a New Brunswick living history museum with original buildings from the period of 1820-1920. It was created around buildings that were saved and moved to make way for the headpond for the Mactaquac Dam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metlar–Bodine House</span> Historic house in New Jersey, United States

The Metlar House, also known as the Knapp House, the Bodine House, or the Metlar–Bodine House, is an historic house, now museum, located along River Road in Piscataway, New Jersey. It is also believed to be haunted. In 2003 a fire badly damaged the house. The museum has undergone major renovations over the past decade and, as of Summer 2014, is once again open to the public.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodlawn (Alexandria, Virginia)</span> Historic house in Virginia, United States

Woodlawn is a historic house located in Fairfax County, Virginia. Originally a part of Mount Vernon, George Washington's historic plantation estate, it was subdivided in the 19th century by abolitionists to demonstrate the viability of a free labor system. The address is now 9000 Richmond Highway, Alexandria, Virginia, but due to expansion of Fort Belvoir and reconstruction of historic Route 1, access is via Woodlawn Road slightly south of Jeff Todd Way/State Route 235. The house is a designated National Historic Landmark, primarily for its association with the Washington family, but also for the role it played in the historic preservation movement. It is now a museum property owned and managed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Preservation (library and archive)</span> Set of activities aimed at prolonging the life of a record or object

In conservation, library and archival science, preservation is a set of preventive conservation activities aimed at prolonging the life of a record, book, or object while making as few changes as possible. Preservation activities vary widely and may include monitoring the condition of items, maintaining the temperature and humidity in collection storage areas, writing a plan in case of emergencies, digitizing items, writing relevant metadata, and increasing accessibility. Preservation, in this definition, is practiced in a library or an archive by a conservator, librarian, archivist, or other professional when they perceive a collection or record is in need of maintenance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sir Howard Douglas Hall</span> University Museum in New Brunswick, Canada

Sir Howard Douglas Hall, commonly referred to as "The Old Arts Building", is the oldest university building still in use in Canada, completed in 1827. The building is named after Howard Douglas and is located on the Fredericton campus of the University of New Brunswick. The lobby of the building resembles a small museum due to the historic documents and other artifacts stored there. The Edwin Jacob chapel is also located in the lobby. The 'Great Hallways' of this building are filled with history as they are lined with portraits of past presidents of the university. It was designed by the same architect, John Elliott Woolford, that designed Old Government House, also in Fredericton, in 1826. The third story and mansard roof was added in 1876.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint John City Market</span>

The Saint John City Market in Saint John, New Brunswick, is the oldest continuously operated farmer's market in Canada, with a charter dating from 1785. The market is located at 47 Charlotte Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kent Life</span> Farm park in Sandling, Kent, England

Kent Life is a farm park located at Sandling near Maidstone, next to Allington Locks on the east bank of the River Medway. It once operated as an open-air museum, before rebranding as a heritage farm park. It was renamed as "Kent Life" in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinity College Kirk</span> Royal collegiate church in Edinburgh, Scotland

Trinity College Kirk was a royal collegiate church in Edinburgh, Scotland. The kirk and its adjacent almshouse, Trinity Hospital, were founded in 1460 by Mary of Guelders in memory of her husband, King James II who had been killed at the siege of Roxburgh Castle that year. Queen Mary was interred in the church, until her coffin was moved to Holyrood Abbey in 1848.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Fire of Saint John</span> Urban fire

The Great Fire of Saint John was an urban fire that devastated much of Saint John, New Brunswick in June 1877, destroying two-fifths of the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Miller, California</span> Ghost town in California, United States

Fort Miller, also known as Camp Barbour, was a fort on the south bank of the San Joaquin River in what is now Fresno County, California. It lay at an elevation of 561 feet. The site is now under Millerton Lake, formed by the Friant Dam in 1944. It is registered as California Historical Landmark #584.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hose Station No. 4</span> United States historic place

Hose Station No. 4 is located in the Village of East Davenport in Davenport, Iowa, United States. It is a contributing property of the Davenport Village Historic District that has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1980. The fire station was individually listed on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties in 1993. It is one of two old fire stations on the east side of the city that are still in existence. The other one is Hose Station No. 3. The building sits adjacent to Lindsay Park and now houses the International Fire Museum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">W. J. Kent</span>

William Joseph Kent was a business and political leader in Bathurst, New Brunswick in Canada. Kent's business enterprises were significant in the economic development of the region, and Kent was a founding alderman in Bathurst's first town council for sixteen years before serving as mayor of Bathurst for two terms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinity Royal Heritage Conservation Area</span>

The Trinity Royal Heritage Conservation Area is a historic district in Saint John, New Brunswick's uptown. The City of Saint John designated the area as the city's first heritage conservation area in 1982; it has since expanded in area. Surrounding the Trinity Anglican Church, the area includes several National Historic Sites of Canada within its boundaries. Much of the area consists of Victorian brick buildings raised after The Great Fire of Saint John, New Brunswick that destroyed much of the city's central peninsula in 1877.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint George Parish, New Brunswick</span> Parish in Canada

Saint George is a geographic parish in Charlotte County, New Brunswick, Canada, located between St. Stephen and Saint John.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Saint John, New Brunswick</span>

The history of Saint John, New Brunswick is one that extends back thousands of years, with the area being inhabited by the Maliseet and Miꞌkmaq First Nations prior to the arrival of European colonists. During the 17th century, a French settlement was established in Saint John. During the Acadian Civil War, Saint John served as the seat for the administration under Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour. The French position in Saint John was abandoned in 1755, with British forces taking over the area shortly afterwards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manchester, Robertson & Allison</span> Department store in Saint John, Canada

Manchester, Robertson & Allison was a large department store in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. Founded in 1866 by James Manchester, James F. Robertson and Joseph Allison, the store, which contained several departments, was in business until closing in 1973 and being replaced by the Brunswick Square.

References

  1. Blackford, Ashley. "Saint John business bringing back Barbour's General Store", CTV Atlantic , Canada, 3 August 2015.
  2. https://huddle.today/2023/06/13/fire-damaged-barbours-general-store-to-be-replaced-with-gateway-project/
  3. "Dismantling of historic Barbour's General Store to go ahead as planned". July 4, 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  4. Sorensen, AnneLise & Christian Williams (2010). The Rough Guide to Canada. Penguin. pp. No page. ISBN   9781405387453.
  5. Goss, David (2009). Saint John: 1877-1980. Arcadia Publishing. p. 39. ISBN   9780738572222.
  6. Goss, David (2009). Saint John: 1877-1980. Arcadia Publishing. p. 39. ISBN   9780738572222.

45°16′21″N66°03′45″W / 45.272516°N 66.062542°W / 45.272516; -66.062542