Connecting Albert County - Culture and Heritage - Connecting Albert County

R. B. Bennett Exhibit – Newly Renovated!

30/6/2022

by Janet Clouston

The RB Bennett Commemorative Centre was officially opened in 2010 at the Albert County Museum to highlight Bennett’s professional life and to share his boyhood years growing up in Hopewell Cape. The impressive granite monument was erected “in the square” by the Government of Canada to honour the Right Honourable Richard Bedford Bennett, Canada’s 11th Prime Minister. RB Bennett’s image is portrayed in the centre of the granite monument as he views the tidal waters of the Petitcodiac River flowing into Shepody Bay. The RB Bennett Exhibit is now being renovated!

Albert County Museum Open for Season

30/5/2022

by Janet Clouston

Albert County Museum Officially opened May 21st for the 2022 season. To kick-off the celebrations of the 60th Anniversary of the Museum, which opened to the public May 19, 1962, a symbolic ribbon cutting took place at 1:00pm in front of the Albert County Court House (1904) with some of the original artefacts that were on hand 60 years ago! We made an announcement on a special program along with our new “$60 for 60 Years” campaign. We welcomed long-term residents as well as those new to Albert County to discover the history of their new home!

The Monarchy Celebrated Once Again at the Court House!

2/5/2022

by Dawne McLean, President ACHS

In celebration of the 70th Anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II ascending to the throne, the Albert County Historical Society will host a Platinum Jubilee Ceremony at the Court House on the grounds of the Albert County Museum, Hopewell Cape, on Saturday, June 4, 2022. This event will provide an opportunity to pay tribute to “our Queen of Canada”, who, for many of us, is the only Monarch we have ever known.

Amazing History of Albert County Shared with a Unique Mobile Exhibit

30/3/2022

Submitted by: Janet Clouston, Managing Director, Albert County Museum

Readers of Connecting Albert County may recall the “Albert County 175” programming that was hosted in 2020 with the support of the Government of Canada. Over the course of the year, the popular photo-a-day program was shared on our website blog and on Facebook and Twitter. Several concerts were held, including the outdoor Rising Tide Festival concert near the Exhibition Hall, as well as the 100th anniversary re-dedication of the WWI field guns held in the “square” and the Artisan Showcase held in the Court House. A commemorative AC175 souvenir magazine was produced and mailed to every household in Albert County, as well as to the schools. Of the 20,000 printed magazines, only a few copies remain. The AC175 collector’s pin that was designed is still proudly worn by local residents.

Museum Celebrating Diamond Jubilee

27/2/2022

Donald Bishop, Warden of Albert County, is pictured cutting the ribbon to officially open the Albert County Museum at Hopewell Cape on Saturday, May 19, 1962. Looking on is Allison Steeves, President of the Albert County Historical Society, which operates the museum.

by Janet Clouston

We are pleased to share the content from this article from 1962 with the readers of Connecting Albert County. The Albert County Museum opened with 200 items in their collection and we now have nearly 9000 items!

One of the items is the Guest Book from the 1962 season with the names of the guests who visited during the first year the Museum was in operation. We hope you enjoy the article and photo. We look forward to welcoming you to the Museum during the 60th Anniversary in 2022!

Anniversary of the Albert County Museum

1/1/2022

By Janet Clouston

The Albert County Historical Society is pleased to announce the 60th Anniversary of the Albert County Museum will take place in 2022. The Museum, located in Hopewell Cape, NB, opened to the public in 1962 on the site of the historic 1845 “Shiretown” of Albert County, the once-bustling municipality capital.

“The Albert County Museum came into existence because a group of Albert County citizens knew the importance of preserving the history and artefacts of past generations,” expressed Dawne McLean, President of the Albert County Historical Society. “Without the Museum, valuable information of our past would have been erased....never to be appreciated by future generations.”

Throughout 2022, the amazing history of the area will be shared through in-person events, as well as by digital means, including the Albert County Museum (ACM) website, social media and special videos.

Programming will be for history lovers of all ages and, where possible, will be free of charge, available at a nominal fee, or included with paid admission to the Museum.

Celebrate Canada and RB Bennett Days with the Albert County Historical Society

25/6/2021

By Janet Clouston

The Albert County Historical Society invites you and your family to take part in a special program that begins with Canada Day on Thursday, July 1st and ends with RB Bennett Day on Saturday, July 3rd. We will welcome visitors from New Brunswick and the Atlantic Bubble in recognition of Canada’s 11th Prime Minister and the 90th Anniversary of the Statute of Westminster, which forever changed Canada’s role in the British Commonwealth.
When Prime Minister Bennett signed the Statute of West- minster in 1931, Canada gained its independence from Britain. Canada acquired formal control over its external affairs and the British laws no longer applied to Canada (with the notable exception of the British North America Act of 1867). After signing the Statute of Westminster, RB Bennett said, "I realize that this is the culmination of a long, long effort that has been made since we were a colony, to become the self-governing Dominion."

Albert County Museum Calendar of Events

25/6/2021

Discover the People of the Tides Downloadable Image

Albert County Museum 2021

26/5/2021

By Janet Clouston

The Albert County Historical Society is excited to showcase a new exhibit at the Albert County Museum. The Grindstone Island exhibit features heritage photos taken on Grindstone Island by Hugh Wright (lightkeeper from 1939 to 1950), as well as photos of Wainwright “Pappy” Weston and his family. Pappy was the last Grindstone lightkeeper; he served as lightkeeper from 1950 to 1970.

A special feature shares personal memories from two lightkeeper families. Mary Russell, daughter of James Russell (lightkeeper from 1899 to 1913), wrote a fascinating and detailed account of her childhood experiences when she and her eight siblings lived on Grindstone Island more than 120 years ago.

Captains Galore

25/10/2020

Photo credit - Brian Townsend

By Dawne McLean

On September 16th, 2020, Captain Catherine Lacombe, Commanding Officer of CCGS Captain Molly Kool, visited the Albert County Museum in Hopewell Cape. Dawne McLean, President of the Albert County Historical Society (ACHS), invited Captain Lacombe to visit the new Molly Kool exhibit made possible by a New Horizons For Seniors grant. Captain Lacombe also presented a special photo with a beautiful wooden frame she had crafted herself. The framed photo gift will be included in the Molly Kool exhibit and will be a memento of Captain Lacombe’s visit.

Paul Toner performed his song “Call Me Captain,” which was perfect for the occasion! Everyone enjoyed hearing Captain Lacombe speak of her Coast Guard career and the CCGS Captain Molly Kool icebreaker, as well as answering many questions. Captain Lacombe plans to return and tour our Fundy region!

Preparing for Albert County’s 175th birthday

22/6/2019

By Janet Clouston

The Albert County Historical Society is forming a Steering Committee to plan celebrations and activities for Albert County’s 175th Birthday, taking place in 2020.

Albert County 175 is a celebration of the 175th Anniversary of the founding of Albert County, New Brunswick. The act to found the county was passed by the New Brunswick Legislature on March 23, 1845, and gained Royal Assent on August 8, 1845, making Albert County officially a county. This makes us older than Canada by 22 years–now that is worthy of a party!

2019 Quilt and Fibre Arts Show and Sale: July 9-13th

21/6/2019

The 43rd Annual Quilt and Fibre Arts Show and Sale is being held from Tuesday, July 9th until Saturday, July 13th from 9:30am until 5:30pm daily in the Community Hall at the Albert County Museum, Hopewell Cape NB. There will be more than 100 quilts from Baby and Lap size to Queen Size featuring various quilting patterns, styles and techniques in either machine or hand quilting. In addition to the quilts and quilts tops, there will be a variety of smaller finished items – sewn, knitted, crocheted, cross-stitched -- if it is made from fibre, you may find it at the show. The Show and Sale gives local fibre artists and craft persons the opportunity to showcase their creativity.

2019 Anglophone East Regional Heritage Fair

16/5/2019

Submitted by Dawne McLean
The Albert County Museum was bustling with activity on May 8th as Anglophone East students came to spend the day participating in the 2019 Regional Heritage Fair.

Students from nine district schools proudly displayed their creative and innovative heritage projects of varied themes and project categories in the Community Hall. Judges interviewed the students and assessed the projects based on specific evaluation criteria for the special juried awards, as well as other prizes. However, the day included much more than the judging of the projects!

Fundy Quilt Show and Sale

8/5/2019

Submitted by Linda Rose

The Albert County Historical Society will hold the 43rd Annual Quilt Show and Sale from July 9-13th. We are inviting area quilters and fiber artists to register articles for sale. We hope to display more than 100 quilts, plus a wide variety of lap quilts, baby quilts and quilt tops. There will be numerous, small, finished articles: everything from pincushions, potholders, hand towels, baby items, purses, scarfs, socks, mitts to wool-hooked rugs. Sewn, knitted, cross-stitched, crocheted, hooked and felted articles are welcomed. If it is made with fibre, you can register the article at our Show and Sale. Registration forms are on the Albert County Museum website www.albertcountymuseum.com/fibreartquiltshow.

New Managing Director at the Albert County Museum

8/5/2019

The Albert County Museum & RB Bennett Commemorative Centre is pleased to announce the appointment of new Managing Director Janet Clouston. “We are very excited to have Janet in place to work with us to lead the Museum into the future,” said Stuart Liptay, President of the Board of Directors of the Albert County Historical Society.

Aaarrr...Here be Pirates!

28/9/2018

Greetings from the Albert County Museum.
The 2018 summer season is behind us and my motley crew of dedicated summer employees are back to school. Usually, that's the end of our Museum hours, but I'm pleased to report that thanks to a grant from the New Brunswick Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour, the Museum was able to hire three "experienced employees” (that's over the age of 55) to extend our season to October 14th. What a great opportunity for our older fall tourists to take tours of the ACM under the umbrella of the glorious fall foliage of our wonderful County.
In this installment of Connecting Albert County, I thought I would spin a story of days gone by. A story of the early settlers of our area that dates back to the year 1698.

The Hidden Gem in the Heart of Albert County

23/7/2018

Greetings from the Albert County Museum. The 2018 summer season is in full swing and we are so pleased to be welcoming the flocks of tourists visiting the many world class attractions in our wonderful county.
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of giving a tour of the museum to a group of visitors from Texas. Very nice folk and quite insistent that they had never seen such an amazing and well-preserved array of artifacts and buildings. They told me it was just by luck that they noticed the Victory Cannons from the highway and decided to stop for a photo. One of the ladies exclaimed, "Can you imagine my surprise when I turned away from the cannons and there, right in front of me, was a beautiful display of heritage buildings in all their glory!" She grabbed me by the elbow and stared at me with her wide blue eyes and said, "You do realize what a jewel you have here!"

Ghosts, Ghouls, and Goblins in Albert County

25/8/2017

By Melody Land

Everyone loves a good ghost story.

We see the oral tradition of the sharing of ghost stories throughout human history. It doesn’t seem to matter how old you are, your gender, culture, or belief system – when someone talks about the unexplained, you listen. Often, the stories are a way of passing some type of learning on to the listener; a bit of history or a moral lesson is the real message, the paranormal simply the wrapping paper that holds the message together and makes it look fancy.

Picture by Janet Wallace

Canada without R.B. Bennett?

27/6/2017

By Melody Land

This year, the Albert County Museum is celebrating the 7th Annual RB Bennett Day in conjunction with our Canada 150 celebrations. Why, though, do we have such a day? Why is RB Bennett so important? Sure, he was born and raised in Hopewell Cape.

He was the 11th Prime Minister of Canada. But really, what’s the big deal with this guy anyway?

Sometimes, the best way to answer a question is with another question: What would Canada look like without Richard Bedford Bennett?

Vimy Ridge Oak Tree

6/5/2017

Albert County Museum to Plant Oak Tree Grown from Original Canadian Vimy Ridge Tree

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – May 05, 2017
Hopewell Cape, NB – The Albert County Museum and RB Bennett Commemorative Centre (www.albertcountymuseum.com) is pleased to announce that on Wednesday, May 10, 2017 they will be planting a Vimy Oak tree in commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. The tree was made available through the Vimy Oaks Legacy Project with the cooperation of Landscape NB/PEI. The Vimy Oak Trees were grown from scions cut from oak trees grown from acorns gathered on the Vimy Battlefield by Lieutenant Leslie H. Miller in 1917. The planting will take place during the Anglophone East School District Heritage Fair.

The Albert County Museum needs your help!

29/4/2017

We are looking for volunteers to fill a variety of roles for the 2017 season.

The Cape Enrage figurine - a mystery revealed

14/9/2016

Photo courtesy Deb Carr

Who carved the Cape Enrage figurine? What does it mean? Are there other pieces like it? These were some of the questions that got answered on September 10, 2016, at a session hosted by the Albert County Museum in Hopewell Cape.

Dr. David Black, who just recently retired from the Department of Anthropology at the University of New Brunswick, gave the talk to a room full of guests and answered questions later.

The figurine was found in 1998 on public land, on the cliff face of Cape Enrage, overlooking Waterside Beach by Daniel Kane who was looking for fossils. It was found on a rocky ledge, just above the water line and it is a small figurine. It is only 4.75 cm tall (just under 2 inches) and when Daniel found it, he thought at first it was a chess piece. It looked polished and was off-white in colour. From the back, what you see is just a column that doesn’t have much carved on it although you can see that there are points on the top, resembling a crown. However, when you look at the front of the figurine, there is much more carving. You can see the crown, but also two eyes, a nose and a mouth that looks partially open. Definitely not a chess piece.

RB Bennett Day Celebrations

6/7/2016

By James Wilson

Despite the rain, the Albert County Museum's 6th Annual R.B. Bennett Day went ahead on Saturday. The day, meant to fall close to Bennett's July 3rd birthday, honours Canada's 11th prime minister and the only Canadian prime minister born in New Brunswick. The morning breakfast brought out 41 people and the kitchen had only three pancakes and a little bit of bacon left over at noon. Due to the rain the plan to barbecue hot dogs was abandoned and they were boiled instead.

Exciting Change at the Albert County Museum!

5/7/2016

Haven't been to the Museum in years? Then it is a perfect time to go explore our local history as effective immediately, the Albert County Museum is now offering scheduled guided tours and special activities.

The schedule is located here. Please note that admission is now valid for two consecutive days to allow visitors the opportunity to experience each of the different tours at their convenience.

Lieutenant Governor presents Regional Heritage Fair awards

16/5/2016

The day's finale: a group photo of the students on the Courthouse steps. Back row (l to r) MLA Brian Keirstead, Dawne McLean, His Honour, Mr. Ronald Vienneau, and Lt.Gov. Jocelyne Roy Vienneau.

The Albert County Museum was bustling with activity and excitement on Wednesday, May 11 with Anglophone East students participating in the 2016 Regional Heritage Fair.

This year, the Honourable Jocelyne Roy Vienneau, Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick, and His Honour, Mr. Ronald Vienneau were present to view the heritage projects and then participate in the Awards Ceremony, making this an extraordinary experience for all in attendance.