Northumberland County was named for Northumberland County in Great Britain.
Surrounding Courthouses:
N – Restigouche County and Gloucester County
E – Gulf of St. Lawrence and Kent County
S – Kent County, Sunbury County and York County
W – York County and Victoria County
County Created : 1785 ( one of 8 original counties )
County Seat:
Shiretown 1785 – 1786
Newcastle 1786 – 1995
Miramichi 1995 – present
Old Courthouse – Miramichi ( Newcastle )
Location: 599 King George Highway / Newcastle Road
Built: 1912 – 1913
Style: Romanesque Revival
Architect: Leslie R Fairn of Truro
Contractor: John McDonald of Chatham and Henry Ingram of Newcastle
Description: The building faces southeast and is a two story buff coloured sandstone structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the centre of Miramachi. The southeast front has a central arched entrance on the first story with large arched wind flanked by two smaller arched windows above on the second story. The stonework rises to a peak at the roof line. On either side of the front are round stone towers with conical roofs. The roof is hipped. The interior had a courtroom on the first story with another courtroom above on the second story. The building was renovated in 1957. The architect was Alward & Gilles. In 2018, the building is being converted into condominiums.
See: The architect Leslie R Fairn of Truro also designed courthouses in Digby County and Kings County in Nova Scotia.
Courthouse – Miramichi ( Newcastle )
Location: 672 King George Highway / Newcastle Road
Built: 2001 – 2003
Style: Modern
Architect: Unknown
Contractor: Unknown
Description: The building faces east and is a three story sandstone, brown coloured brick, glass and concrete structure. The building is located on spacious landscaped grounds north of the centre of Miramachi. The east front has three projecting buff coloured sandstone towers with two recessed glass wall sections. An orange coloured vertical section runs above the entrances. The roof line is flat. In the interior, there are four Court of King’s Bench courtrooms located on the second story. The building houses the Court of King’s Bench and is named as the Miramachi Law Courts.
Old Courthouse – Miramichi ( Newcastle )
Location: 285 Campbell Street / George Street
Built: 1829
Style: Georgian
Architect: William Murray.
Contractor: William Murray.
Description: The building faces south and is a two story white coloured white pine clapboard structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds northwest of the centre of Miramachi. The south front has a central entrance framed with box panels and original corner boards and with two thin Doric columns rising to a small open pediment. Above the door is a transom light. The roof is hipped with continuous eaves. The building has been converted into offices,
History: The county was created in 1785 as one of the 8 original counties with county seat at Shiretown and renamed as Newcastle. The first courthouse burned in 1825. The second courthouse was a wood structure built in 1829 and which is still standing. The third courthouse was constructed in 1912 to 1913 at a cost of $31,449, and which is still standing. The county seat name was changed to Miramachi in 1995. The fourth and present courthouse was constructed in 2001 to 2003 at a cost of $8,700,000
Note: The highest point in the Province of New Brunswick is Mount Carleton at 817 meters ( 2680 feet ) located in the Mount Carleton Provincial Park on the west side of the county..
Old Courthouse – Miramichi ( Newcastle )
Courthouse – Miramichi ( Newcastle )
Court of King’s Bench courtroom
Photos taken 2018