Description of Historic Place

The Marine (Seamen’s) Hospital consists of a Georgian-style sandstone building built on a parcel of land, located at 12 Samuel Street overlooking the Miramichi River in the City of Miramichi.

Heritage Value

The Marine (Seamen’s) Hospital Provincial Historic Site is the oldest marine hospital still existing in Canada. Built from 1830 to 1831, this Georgian-style sandstone building is characterized by a rectangular plan according to the British tradition, inspired by the classical architecture of the Renaissance. Its well-defined proportions and its (rebuilt) cupola lend it a certain classicism.

Financed with the aid of tonnage fees and built by the Port of Miramichi commissioners, the hospital was used from 1831 to 1921 to care for sick and disabled seamen from ships engaged in the timber trade in Miramichi Bay.

Source: New Brunswick Culture and Sport Secretariat, Heritage Branch, Site File # 50.

Character-Defining Elements

Character-defining elements of the Marine (Seamen’s) Hospital include: - its location overlooking the Miramichi River; - rectangular building measuring approximately 100 feet by 40 feet, built of cut sandstone assembled with tight joints; - hipped roof with four gentle slopes, surmounted in the centre by a (rebuilt) cupola in the form of a bell-turret mounted on Greek columns; - symmetrical, balanced, and refined front façade, with six windows and a single door in its centre; - symmetrical arrangement of the front windows, simple cornice, without ornamentation or decoration, chimney at either end; - low stone basement level with earthen floor; - interior plan and spatial arrangement including large, open, two storey space running the length of the south side of the building parallel the river and two floors running along north side of the building; - two fireplaces on the west end; - the original doors and trim, as well as a patient’s bed.