Originally known as the Royal Oak Inn, this 2 ½-storey building was completed by 1787. It fronts on 36-38 Waterloo Row above Shore Street.
Heritage Value
The large house at 36-38 Waterloo Row is a significant residential structure of Loyalist origin. The heritage value of the building resides not only in the early development of Waterloo Row but in its reflection of the commercial identity of the eastern end of Fredericton’s town plat during the Loyalist settlement phase.
Originally known as the Royal Oak Inn, this 2 ½-storey building was completed by 1787. Loyalist Gabriel Van Horne was the proprietor of this inn from 1787 until his death in 1815. When Van Horne, a Loyalist from New Jersey, opened the Inn, there were already two other well-established hostelries located on either side of this business, namely the Golden Ball Inn and McLeod’s Inn. Because of the close proximity to the ferry landing, the Royal Oak Inn was conveniently located to serve the travelling public.
After Gabriel Van Horne’s death, his son James became proprietor of the Royal Oak Inn. The Van Horne family retained ownership of the Inn until the 1860s, at which point it was sold to Mark Neville, who introduced a grocery business to the Royal Oak.
With the sale of the Royal Oak in 1883 to merchant tailor and Scottish immigrant, James R. Howie, the building underwent extensive renovations. James R. Howie converted the Royal Oak into a private dwelling for his family, probably adding the multifaceted tower at that time. The single family dwelling would later be remodelled to accommodate a second family unit. Members of the Howie family continued to reside in one part of the dwelling at least until the 1950s.
At present the building is a multi-unit apartment building.
Character-Defining Elements
Character-defining elements associated with the building located at 36-38 Waterloo Row include:
• 2 ½-storey wood construction with painted wood clapboard siding
• Main volume being a 5-bay Georgian structure with a number of later additions
• Medium pitch gable roof, oriented with its ridge parallel to the street
• Ornate wood brackets along the roof soffit
• Wrap around verandah on decorated square posts
• Triangular pediment surmounting central front entrance
• Large rectangular single hung windows
• Gable and hip dormers at upper roof line
• Multi-faceted corner tower with flat roof