Former Gibson Roundhouse

The heritage value of this brick building resides in its original capacity as the roundhouse for the Northern & Western Railway, located at the Gibson Railway Yard. Incorporated in 1882, this railway line ran from Gibson to Chatham along the Miramichi River and connected with the New Brunswick and Intercolonial Railways. Jabez B. Snowball, future Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick, and Alexander “Boss” Gibson sat on the original Board of Directors of the Northern & Western Railway Company.

The construction of the roundhouse clearly reflected the influence of Boss Gibson. B. Mooney & Sons, the Saint John contracting firm that specialized in brick constructions, had been hired in 1885 to build the new roundhouse. One year earlier, this same contracting firm had erected the Marysville Cotton Mill for Mr. Gibson. The bricks that were used in the construction of the roundhouse had been produced at Boss Gibson’s brick yard. The roundhouse, which required half a million bricks for its construction, stands as a monument of local building materials.

This building remained in operation as a roundhouse for more than half a century, until it was replaced by new facilities in 1937.