Charlotte County Archives Hosts its 5th Annual Heritage Homes Tour in St. Andrews

1. Andrews, N.B. — The Board of Directors of the Charlotte County Archives are pleased to present a tour of four lovely historic houses and one stunning church to ticket holders on Saturday, August 18^thfrom 1:00 until 4:00 p.m. in the beautiful resort town of St. Andrews.

Says event co-ordinator Sheila Washburn, “Tour organizers and docents will be greeting guests at the five venues. We are looking forward to greeting guests at the houses, telling them a bit about the historic elements of each building and sharing light refreshments afterwards with everyone from 3:00 until 5:00 p.m. at the lovely Sunbury Shores Arts and Nature Centre. People will see the houses in a careful sequencing to make numbers small enough at each house to thoroughly enjoy the experience. We sell only 250 tickets for this event, so you will want to book early.”

Houses on the tour include the Peacock Farmhouse, constructed in 1823 and 1828 and sitting on 2.89 acres of woodland. To maintain the historic integrity of the house during recent restoration, each one of the 44 sets of windows was dissembled and old paint and glazing was removed and restored, pane by pane and window by window.

Oriole Cottage, built in two parts — one almost 200 years ago and the addition in the last quarter of the nineteenth century — is also on the tour. The house was named by of one of its well-known residents, portraitist Florence MacKubin who hailed from Baltimore, buying the house from merchant Alphonsus O’Neill in 1909.

45 Water Street has been lovingly updated by its owners, who secured the foundation of the original 1840 structure, keeping what was sound and re-building the street-side exterior to resemble the original house. The water side of the expanded building was filled with glorious windows and balconies.

Greenock Church, completed in 1824, is a beautiful Palladian Revival-style church with a handsome vestibule crowned by an elegant steeple in front of a simple symmetrical Colonial-style meeting house. Large 12-over-12 framed windows dominate this gracious church, which is recognized far and wide for its architectural beauty and its contribution to Presbyterianism in the Province.

235 Queen Street is one of the oldest and most historically important buildings in St. Andrews, having been moved here during the American War of Independence. In 1783 the main part of the house, now sited on Frederick Street, was disassembled and brought by boat from Castine, Maine by loyalist Robert Pagan, and was reassembled in 1784. This house has been meticulously restored.

Tickets, at $25 each, will be available beginning July 3 at Cockburn’s Drugstore in St. Andrews and at Westminster Books in Fredericton.

                                                -30-

For more information, please contact Sheila Washburn (Sheila.washburn.ca) or Sheila Blagrave (Sheila.blagrave@gmail.com), who can arrange an interview for you.