Saint John is a city steeped in history. Also referred to as ‘the Loyalist City’ as well as ‘Canada’s Most Irish City,’ Saint John is Canada's oldest incorporated city (1785). Saint John is home to this country's oldest museum and farmers market. This city has been welcoming people from Eastern Europe, England and Ireland for centuries, with each group of immigrants leaving their unique imprint on Saint John culture, architecture and language.
Carleton Martello Tower
Carleton Martello Tower is a national historic site and dates back from the War of 1812. It played a pivotal role in conflicts up until the Second World War. The site features a restored powder magazine, a restored barracks room, and exhibits in the tower and in the Visitor Centre. Visitors will also marvel at the spectacular view of the city of Saint John and its harbour.
County Court House & Spiral Staircase
The Courthouse was constructed between 1824 and 1829 and was one of the few buildings to survive the Great Fire. The most impressive feature of the building is a free standing stone spiral staircase. Each of the 49 steps in the staircase was cut from a solid block of stone and fitted without a central supporting pillar.
Fort Dufferin | Fort Howe | Fort LaTour
Built between 1866 and 1878, "Fort Dufferin" was at the mainland end of the Partridge Island breakwater. It was used as a fort up until World War II, when gun emplacements were installed to protect the harbor
Fort Howe offers a magnificent panoramic view of the harbor and city. The fort was built as a British army fortification in 1777 to protect the vital St. John River area from American privateers and native unrest.
During the 1630s, Charles de LaTour, self-appointed Governor of Acadia, settled at the mouth of the St. John River. Charles de LaTour's wife, Madame Françoise Marie LaTour, is regarded as Canada's first heroine. She bravely defended the fort from an attack for four days while LaTour was away.
For more information: Magazine Street (North)
Tel: (506) 658-2855
Imperial Theatre (links Concerts & Theatre)
The Imperial Theatre was designed by Albert E. Westover, who was a leading architect from Philadelphia. It opened in 1913, and over the years featured such great entertainers as John Sousa, Ethel Barrymore, Harry Houdini, and Gracie Fields.
Loyalist House Loyalist House was constructed in 1811 by David Daniel Merrit, a Loyalist from Rye, New York and completed in 1817. It is the oldest building in the city, surviving the Great Fire by servants surrounding it with wet towels. The Merrit family continuously occupied it for nearly 150 years. It was acquired by the New Brunswick Historical Society in 1959.
Loyalist Burial Ground
The Old Burial Ground is referred to by many names, most commonly the Loyalist Burial Grounds. The earliest gravestone is that of Coonradt Hendricks, dated July 13, 1784. Having reached a state of disrepair in the late 1990s, the Old Burial Ground was restored by the Irving family in 1995 in memory of the late KC Irving (1899-1992), founder of the Irving empire of companies.
For more information: Sydney Street (Uptown)
Tel: (506) 658-2855
Partridge Island Quarantine Station
Nick-named 'Canada's Emerald Isle', Partridge Island was the first quarantine station in Canada. First used as a quarantine station as early as 1785, it received its largest influx of immigrants in the 1840s during the Great Famine in Ireland. Partridge Island is both a national and provincial historical site.
Public access to the island is not permitted at this time.
Prince William Streetscape
This historic streetscape is distinguished by its rare concentration of homogeneous, primarily late 19th-century architecture. Traditionally referred to as 'Wall Street", the area contains major public buildings, banks, hotels, insurance, shipping and legal offices, and the seamen's institute and mission. More than half of these structures were erected immediately after the Great Fire of 1877. The Prince William Streetscape is marked as a national historic site.
Saint John City Market
The original City Market (named Country Market and held in the open air) was located at the foot of King Street at Market Square. Saint John City Market on Charlotte Street officially opened in 1876. Its roof, built like an inverted hull, reflects the city’s shipbuilding past.
St. Patrick’s Square
The Trinity Lamps, or "Three Sisters" are located at St. Patrick's Square, a patch of land at the end of Prince William Street. The earliest light at the present location of the "Three Sisters" was a single oil lamp erected in 1842. It was placed in direct line with the steeple of Trinity Church so that harbour pilots and sea captains were able to navigate their way safely into the harbour at night.
A Celtic Cross is also located in St. Patrick's Square beside "The Three Sisters" lamp. The cross is a small scale replica of one that was erected on Partridge Island in 1927 to commemorate the 2000 Irish immigrants who perished of typhus fever en route to New Brunswick or on the island after arriving.
