Description of Historic Place

Kent Northern Hotel is a wood framed two storey building with a mansard roof. The building and lot are located near a busy intersection on Main Street in the Village of Rexton.

Heritage Value

Kent Northern Hotel is designated a Local Historic Place for its association with Kent Northern Railway and for providing accommodation to the passengers.

The Kent Northern Railway passed through the village giving Rexton more direct contact with the world. The train began operating in the early 1880’s. Kent Northern Hotel advertised its accommodations to its passengers. An advertisement in a local paper of 1893 stated “passengers and baggage taken to and from the Station free of charge”. Richard Hebert was the proprietor and although uncertain if the Railway and the Hotel were associated, the Kent Northern Hotel also promoted a “Sample Room and Livery Stable in connection”. This era represented a period in the local history when small hotels could succeed in a small village.

The Sample Room was popular with the commercial travellers. It was a place to open their sample cases and exhibit their wares for the merchants of the day while the Livery Stable at the Hotel offered stables, care of horses and horses for hire. In 1929, the Canadian National Railway took over the railway and it is perhaps at this time that the hotel changed its name to the Rexton Inn.

Although no longer a hotel, the building forms a portion of a larger complex and operates as a commercial enterprise.

Source: Village of Rexton Local Historic Places File #2006-5.

Character-Defining Elements

The character defining elements of the Kent Northern Hotel property in relation to its association to the Kent Northern Railway include:
-located on Main Street near a busy intersection;
-situated on edge of sidewalk.

The character defining elements of the Kent Northern Hotel's original architecture include :
- mansard roof with original dormers;
- original placement of windows on either side of main door.