10 Quirky, Weird and Unusual Things about Fredericton!
New Brunswick’s capital city has all kinds of fascinating firsts and strange things to see! See below, how many can you check off our list?
#1) How about a 42 pound frog!?
Known as the Coleman Frog, the famous amphibian was discovered in 1885 when it jumped into Fred Coleman’s canoe on Killarney Lake and became his pet. The frog quickly grew after Coleman began feeding him June bugs, buttermilk, whiskey, and cornmeal. He was a great companion to Fred until the frog’s death (from a controversial dynamite blast) in 1899. The frog was preserved by a taxidermist and is displayed at the Fredericton Region Museum.
#2) Can you spare a square? Find this 4-seater octagonal outhouse at Kings Landing
One of the oldest buildings at Kings Landing (1790’s) is the octagonal privy. Privies or outhouses were a domestic necessity in the era before indoor plumbing became available, but few of them were as fancy as this one, built for the country estate of a wealthy Virginian Loyalist.
#3) A fountain for man…and beast!
On Queen Street near the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, take a look at the Thomas Temple Fountain, today used as an interesting flowerpot but in the early 1900’s this granite and cast-iron fountain kept people, horses and dogs watered. The top trough-for horses, dogs used a cast-iron bowl at the base and people drank from cups chained in the niches on either side of the structure.
#4) Meet Me at the Monkey Trees
A favorite place for kids to play at Odell Park, Fredericton’s 400+acre year round park is under the weird and wonky cedars close to Odell Lodge. These whimsical looking branches are both mysterious and fun and a great photo opportunity for your little monkeys.
#5) Poets Corner of Canada
Fredericton is known as the Poets’ Corner of Canada, because Bliss Carman, Sir Charles G. D. Roberts and Francis Joseph Sherman, were born and raised here.
#6) Did you know the late famed UFO researcher, Stanton Friedman, lived in Fredericton?
Interested in the life and work of Stanton Friedman? You can stop by or book an appointment to take a tour of Fredericton Region Museum’s newest exhibit featuring the renowned ufologist, with programming like night sky watching and the science of UFOs and flying saucers.
#7) New Brunswick’s only science centre - Science East is located in an old (1842) stone building which was once the city’s bread and water prison.
Creepy! A jail tour at the science centre explores the York County Gaol and you can learn all about the metre-thick walls, 300lb. cell doors, and true stories like the thwarted international breakout plot of a Columbian drug cartel.
#8) Freddy the Nude Dude
Known as Freddy the Little Nude Dude, this little cherub stands atop the three tired fountain in front of City Hall. Well, he’s a replica - the original Freddy (1885) was stolen and damaged, recovered, and on display inside City Hall. Did you know he’s older than the Statue of Liberty?!
#9) City Hall’s clock tower is an iconic landmark in downtown Fredericton.
The clock and bell came from England in 1878 and parts of it served as the prototype for London’s famous, Big Ben. “Little Ben’s“ timepiece is weight driven, using gravity as its power source, with the weights slowly descending from ceiling to floor, driving the gears of the clockworks as they drop. Until the repairs to the clock in 2009, clock weights were hand-wound every two days.
#10) The first railway flanger or "cow catcher" in the world was invented here in Fredericton.
What’s a flanger you ask?! The flanger was attached to the front of trains to push objects (like cows!) off the tracks to prevent them from becoming caught under the wheels of the train.
Which of these places have you been too? Feel free to share your favorite oddity so we can add it to our list!
