Community is at the heart of the work of the Albert County Historical Society and Museum! To share the history of the Society, it was at an organizational meeting held in Alma on 29 July 1951, that twenty founding members representing the six parishes of Albert County established the Albert County Historical Society, which was later incorporated in 1957. The aim of the Society was to perpetuate and preserve the history of Albert County including the historical documents and relics pertaining to the County. As artefacts were being donated by Society members and County residents, the decision was made to establish the Albert County Museum, which opened May 19, 1962 in the Tax and Record Office Buildings at the Shiretown capital in Hopewell Cape, following the Albert County Municipal Council being abolished. Other County buildings on the Shiretown property were also then turned over to the Albert County Historical Society, resulting in what is now the Albert County Museum and R.B. Bennett Commemorative Centre. In the nearly 74 years that have passed since the Society was founded, the tradition of community and outreach carries on.

Those who were able to enjoy the recent production of “Tall Trees and Fresh Fields” were treated to a wonderful two-act play about bygone days in rural Albert County. Research for the play included interviews and discussion groups with participating community Seniors being organized by project leaders, Dawne McLean and Sharon McIntyre, in partnership with professional actors of “Character Matters”, Sean McCarthy and Tom Daley, who wrote the authentic script based on personal work experiences and local historical knowledge shared by the Senior participants. The drama portrayed family life on the farm that turned to the hard work in a logging camp to make ends meet, mixed with comedic moments and hard reality. The production of the heritage drama which brought the valuable opportunity for community outreach was made possible through funding from the Federal “New Horizons for Seniors” program. This Federal program has funded several ACHS initiatives supporting community outreach in the past few years, including the popular book “A Glimpse of Past Days”, authored by Dawne McLean with the mission to share and preserve the rich history of Albert County.
Collaborating with other local and provincial museums has led to the popular Natural History Exhibit which introduced prehistoric displays of the Hillsborough Mastodon, “Albert” the Albertosaurus, and ancient fossils discovered in Albert County. All were provided by our partners at Hillsborough Heritage, Moncton’s Resurgo Place and the New Brunswick Museum in Saint John. Funding support was provided by Village of Fundy-Albert and Tourism, Heritage and Culture New Brunswick. We are eternally grateful for the support from these colleagues, and with their support much of the Exhibit will remain for 2025.
Outreach has led to great media coverage for the Albert County Museum in recent years from local publications such as The River View newspaper and Connecting Albert County, to several appearances on Roger’s TV and the Moncton based Podcast Hub and interviews on CBC Radio. Being featured in major publications such as Canada’s History’s “From Prehistory to a Prime Minister” (with support by Tourism New Brunswick) and History Channel’s “Repossessed”, brought outreach to a national audience reaching millions of people. All of this is supporting increased visitation to the museum where an amazing experience of local history is waiting to be shared!
ACHS Directors and Staff are very involved in supporting fellow local non-profits. ACHS President, Dawne McLean is a current Director of the Albert County Tourism Association and the Albert County Exhibition. Museum Managing Director Janet Clouston is a Director of Association Heritage New Brunswick, UNESCO Fundy Biosphere Region, and is a member of the Working Group behind the Fundy Partnership joining Fundy-Albert, Sussex and St. Martins in a collaborative tourism initiative.
We have worked extensively with the Town of Riverview over the past several years participating in the Summer Fest, Maple Festival and Winter Festival and supportive of the 50th Anniversary of the Town of Riverview being established in 1973. Riverview supported the 2023 Children’s Festival, and many Riverview residents were welcomed at the Museum to tour and learn more about local history – many visiting for the first time. We will once again be working with the Town of Riverview during their 2025 Winter Festival.
The outreach work continues! Dawne McLean provided a presentation at the Southeastern New Brunswick Genealogical Society meeting on Saturday, January 18 in Riverview. Future efforts will include New Brunswick’s Heritage Week in February, and on Sunday, March 23rd from 12pm to 5pm, ACM will be a Resurgo Place in Moncton with the Mobile Exhibit and a special display as we take part in their “Discovery Labs” programme held every Sunday from February through the end of April.
Albert County Museum & R.B. Bennett Centre
www.albertcountymuseum.com
Join ACHS by visiting:
www.albertcountymuseum.com/memberships