New Brunswick Historical Tidbits New Brunswick's First Hospital
By Mitch Biggar
The first hospital in New Brunswick was built in 1822 at Saint John and was named the Kent Marine Hospital. In 1830 a hospital was constructed at Douglastown it could hold a large number of sailors.
The hospital in Douglastown was built using ballast stones from Scottish ships and from sandstone from the Miramichi. A feature of interest on the building is a cupola standing on Grecian columns which is located on the roof. There are six large windows that face the river. There is also a large two-storey front room that was used as a sick ward.
The upstairs of the hospital was an isolation ward and a smallpox vaccination center. The hospital was also used for town social functions and as a starvation relief center during the Irish Potato Famine.
The Seaman's Hospital in Douglastown was used for over ninety years and closed in 1921. It was later reopened as the St. Samuel's Roman Catholic Church Hall.
This page was designed by Irene Doyle September 1999