New Brunswick Historical Society

The New Brunswick Historical Society is a historical society based in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. Their mandate is specifically the research and documentation of the history of St. John County, New Brunswick and, to a lesser extent, Kings County, New Brunswick. The society was founded in 1874, by Joseph Wilson Lawrence--a furniture maker--of Saint John. The early society amassed a significant library of titles and documents significant to the history of the province, however most of this was destroyed in the Great Saint John Fire of 1877. Members of the society have included a number of published historians, notable public figures, as well as interested local citizens. In 1960, the society acquired a property in uptown Saint John known as the Merritt House, which had been occupied by the Merritt family since 1810. Since the acquisition the house has served as the headquarters of the society, as well as the Loyalist House museum, which attempts to recreate the Georgian era home of an affluent Loyalist Saint John family.