The Queen Hotel took longer to be added to the Top 20 List than I expected ... it really is a stunning artefact!
Our Top 20 survey has completed its third week and our list of artefacts continues to grow! Patrons have now selected over 60 artefacts for the list and we have tallied the new votes and adjusted the Top 20. Click here for last week’s Top 20 Results!
Provincial Archives of New Brunswick 11-43 ERB, ISAAC PHOTOGRAPHS: Fredericton, Queen St. east end. Queen Hotel is large building on left- looking west from a point near the intersection of St. John Street.
The artefacts receiving the most votes for week ending August 14th were similar to the first two weeks. However, things were shaken up a little bit. The top three artefacts continue to be the Coleman Frog, the Harvey Studio camera and the Penny Farthing Bicycle. Not only did they have the most votes for week ending August 14th but also for the 3 weeks that we have been taking votes.
The World War I Trench Exhibit is one of our most popular exhibits!
Other object topping the list so far are the 1914 Cash Register, the Horse Tricycle and the World War I Machine Gun that is found in our Trench Exhibit. I was sad to see the St. Dunstan’s Church Stained Glass Window drop off the Top 20 to the 23rd spot but it was nice to see the Queen Hotel Cabinet receive a vote. I’m surprised that it took over two weeks for the cabinet to make the list … it is such a beautiful artefact!! Definitely one of my favourites!
The Ramey family in Ontario donated the Queen Hotel Cabinet to the York Sunbury Museum in 2009. The Cabinet resided in the Old Queen Hotel before the hotel was demolished. The Queen Hotel had been established by 1869, erected on the site formerly occupied by a case-brick building, which had been used for a short time by Mr. Smiler as a paint shop. That building came down in order to make way for the hotel, which was originally owned by William Wheeler. Joseph Phillips managed the hotel, followed by Robert Orr. Perhaps the two best known managers of the Queen Hotel were John Edwards (operated the hotel from 1885-1904) and J.J. McCaffrey, the proprietor of the hotel from 1904-1922.
The Cabinet was used to display ads from the 1920s, through to the 1940’s as well as hold encyclopaedias and novels for hotel guests. The ads are hand painted on milk glass with as little as two digit phone numbers. There are 28 inserts from businesses in the Fredericton area. The cabinet possesses a plaque indicating that Rhodes Curry Co Limited of Amherst, Nova Scotia constructed it in the 1800’s. The company was known for building luxurious wooden passenger railway cars. They also created home decor for houses of their era.
There’s more about the Queen Hotel in our Anniversary Edition of the Officers’ Quarters.
Several patrons had a difficult time choosing just one favourite object and frankly, I don’t blame them! I would have a difficult time choosing one item! It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few weeks as we continue to collect votes. Have you placed a vote yet? If not, we will be taking votes until the end of August so visit the York Sunbury Museum soon!!
Here is what we have so far for the three weeks combined:
1. Coleman Frog
5. World War I Machine Gun
7. Fire Extinguisher Grenades
8. St. Dunstan’s Church Steeple Cross
9. Native Picnic Basket
10. Maliseet Paddle
11. Portrait of Sarah Peters
12. Colt Revolver
14. Ralph Sketch Bronze Statue
15. Wigwam Replica
16. Elevator Shoes
17. African Porcupine Quill Box
18. Native Fish Trap
19. Valcartier Camp Panoramic Photograph
York Sunbury Historical Society 
