(Fredericton NB, October 10, 2024 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE). The Fredericton Region Museum is very pleased to announce that Jennifer Dow’s ever popular Black History walking tour of downtown Fredericton is now available in both official languages. It can be accessed at your convenience via the internationally acclaimed VoiceMap app (https://voicemap.me/).

Jennifer Dow is a sixth-generation descendant of early Black New Brunswickers. Her 4.1 km walking tour commences at the Fredericton Region Museum, and will take you on a journey like none other: “I’ll show you a side of downtown that few visitors see” states Jennifer “there’s more to this cultural hub than meets the eye.”

Begin your experience with a visit to the Fredericton Region Museum, where you can learn the origin stories of Black settlers in the region, many of whom arrived in 1783 as Loyalists. Next, download our VoiceMap app entitled Reawakening the City’s Black History: A Downtown Fredericton Walking Tour, where you can follow Jennifer’s voice as your guide. This walking tour is also available en français: Raviver l’histoire des Noirs: Une visite piétonne du centre-ville de Fredericton. Among the many stops along the way:

  • find out about Canada Post’s first female employee, Mrs June Carty, and the challenges she faced as a Black woman;
  • see the Fredericton Convention Centre (once the location of the Queen Hotel), where the Saint John Brass Band played their last performance in Fredericton;
  • discover how the Crowne Plaza (formerly The Lord Beaverbrook Hotel), played a transformative role in Fredericton’s Black community;
  • take in the Lunar Rogue Pub, named after Henry Moon who managed multiple prison escapes;
  • visit the O’Dell House, once the home of prominent Loyalist Jonathan O’Dell, and discover his connection to the city’s enslaved people;
  • learn about the O’Ree House, the home purchased by Willie O’Ree, the first Black player in the NHL (National Hockey League);
  • explore the Old Burial Grounds, where members of the Black community are buried;
  • admire the buildings on the Edgecomb Block of York Street where several Black-owned businesses once flourished; and
  • hear about New Brunswick’s first Black city councillor, who served on Fredericton City Council.

For those who would like to dive even deeper into Fredericton’s Black History, you can visit the museum’s virtual exhibition, Our Black Heritage: Early Black Settlers of York-Sunbury Counties which is also available in both official languages.

We are grateful to Jennifer Dow and our partner institution REACH (Remembering Each African Cemetery’s History New Brunswick) who made this walking tour initiative possible. We are also grateful to financial support provided by the Province of New Brunswick (Commemorations and Celebrations), as well as the City of Fredericton (Arts, Culture & Heritage).

The Fredericton Region Museum is currently operating on special winter hours: Wednesday to Saturday – 1pm to 4pm, as well as other weekdays by appointment or chance.

For more information, please contact:
Alena Krasnikova, Executive Director
Fredericton Region Museum www.frederictonregionmuseum.com
Email: frederictonregionmuseum@gmail.com or phone 506-455-604

The Fredericton Region Museum acknowledges the unceded and unconquered territory of Wəlastəkokewiyik / Wolastoqiyik. The Fredericton Museum, located in Ekwpahak | Fredericton, sits on lands designated by the Peace and Friendship Treaties of 1725-1779. These treaties did not deal in the transfer of land, rather they laid a foundation for what was to be an ongoing nation-to-nation relationship between the British Crown and Indigenous Peoples.