Description of Historic Place

In 1885, B. Mooney & Sons erected the massive roundhouse at the Gibson Railway Yard for the Northern & Western Railway. The former roundhouse, which later served the Canada Eastern and Canadian National Railway, fronts onto the west side of Union Street on a large lot adjacent to Carleton Park.

Heritage Value

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.

Source: City of Fredericton, Historic Places File, “Gibson Roundhouse”

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements associated with the Former Gibson Roundhouse located at 912-930 Union Street include:
- situation upon a large, open lot;
- expansive brick structure;
- use of locally manufactured building materials;
- large bays marking the front façade;
- large, rectangular windows;
- flat roof.