Moncton's retail history filled with colourful characters
Published Tuesday April 7th, 2009
For more than 200 years, Metro Moncton has enjoyed a wide array of retail choices and shops
British army officer Lt. Col. Robert Monckton would be proud of the city that bears his name.
It's a namesake with a slight change (reported to be a clerical error at the time of incorporation), but very different than designations assigned to the area during its colourful past. It has everything to do with the river that runs around it.
There are as many as 11 variations on the name Petitcodiac. It was the Mi'kmaq who named it -- Pet-koat-kwee-ak, sometimes spelled Epetkutgoyek, and translated to mean "as the river bends round in a bow". The early Acadian settlers too were influenced by the river, calling their settlement Terre Rouge in favour of the rich hue of the Petitcodiac's banks or Le Coude (elbow) referring to the river's sharp bend. Subsequent English immigrants named their settlement The Bend of the Petitcodiac -- or more easily, The Bend.
It was in June of 1766 that Captain John Hall arrived with eight Pennsylvania families to settle in what was to become Moncton. The settlement was agriculturally based, although fur trading and lumber were early retail interests. By the mid 1800's shipbuilding flourished and eventually the railway. As the population grew, so did the need for retailers. Not an all-inclusive history of retail in Moncton, the geographic hub of the Maritimes, this brief snapshot, a mere sampling, offers an interesting step into years past.
In Helen Harper Steeves' book "The Story of Moncton's First Store and Storekeeper", she talks about her great-grandfather William Harper who opened a ledger in 1809, and was often in danger from privateers. Ichabod Lewis was thought to be ahead of him in retail -- catering to shipyard workers. Unfortunately there's no date to support the Lewis claim, although both Harper and Lewis did some trading on the river. Ebenezer Cutler also had a store at The Bend. Coopers Alley, below what is now Church Street, was the site of Harper's first store. Because of the area's central location, by 1815 he had customers coming from Amherst, Minudie, Petitcodiac, Salisbury, Joggins, River Hebert and Cornwallis. Deliveries could also be made by schooner.
Early Moncton had a reputation for hard drinking, and at Harper's you could buy most forms of libation -- and tea was more expensive than rum. Tea sold for nine shillings a pound, and rum (the cheapest) for about 75 cents a gallon!
Harper's sold everything from mackerel and cord wood, to raisins and spurs -- and over time, suit cloth for men at 60 shillings a yard, "super fine" hats, bonnets for men and materials for making shoes at home.
In 1834 William Harper's store burned to the ground. Only three ledgers were saved. He was 71 years of age, and he died of a heart attack on the spot.
In years to come, Captain Thomas Fergusson (grandfather of Muriel McQueen Fergusson) purchased Harper's property, the father of F. Fergusson the merchant. The younger Fergusson's store was an impressive three storeys in the Palmer Block, on the corner of Main and Downing Streets, and was known for its "drawers of buttons and threads".
James Trites Dunlap was Moncton's first businessman, involved in general merchandising and exporting. He was the wealthiest man in Moncton of his time, and his son James J. Dunlap was also successful in business. His other son, Dr. George C., banned from practising medicine, operated a Main Street tobacco shop and "was rumoured to sell opium over the counter". Grandson James Dunlap was a King Street grocer.
Another colourful local was William (Crackie) Hunt Taylor, the Yankee trader from Lubec, Maine. However, the man who distinguished himself as Moncton's most notable citizen during the second half of the 1800's, was the inimitable Oliver Jones. A former owner of the Monckton Hotel, a "thriving hostelry" on the corner of Main and Mechanic Streets, he also served as mayor, was Moncton's first banker (president of Westmorland Bank), a shipbuilder, developer, gambler, and substantial landowner.
Many retailers made their mark here, becoming part of Moncton's historical fabric. The Sumner Store (William Henry Tyler Sumner) on Main Street was a popular fixture until closing in the late 1970's. The past also remembers Adolph Comeau, the Acadian Fish Merchant at the corner of St. George and Highfield; Mrs. Georgie Haines home cooking shop; E. A. Fryers & Co. Meats; J. F. Steeves wholesale grocery business; Alcorn's Grill where a full course meal cost 35 cents (25 cents without dessert); Mayor Frank Robinson's Ford Dealership, with Model T's available "in any colour so long as its black", and James D. LeBlanc, merchant tailor -- to name a very few.
Lanes Bakeries became a "full scale bread making industry" and Moncton boys could be guaranteed a few cents on Saturday mornings as bread wrappers. There was also New Method Dry Cleaners Limited (with bachelor service); Zellers on the corner of Lutes and Main -- next door to the Five and Ten (Woolworths); the Palace Grill in the Subway block; Moncton Family Outfitters; White Rose Bread -- Fresh as a June Rose (Dial 4614 for delivery); Vail's Star Laundry, Co. Ltd. on King; Service with a Smile at SWAN - sundries, fruits, papers, etc. - and of course, Eatons.
Opening in 1920 with 752 employees, Eatons was located on the former Record Foundry and Machine Co. Ltd. property. There was also the catalogue mail order side of the business -- and who could forget their bargain basement?!
Moncton's retail sector continues to play a major role in the area's economy, with significant projects such as the Wheeler Park Power Centre on Trinity Drive housing well-known national tenants. Dieppe's Champlain Place is the largest shopping centre in the Maritime Provinces, and Northwest Mall and Highfield Square are also successful landmarks. As well, local businesses are long-lived and thriving, including success stories like Sounds Fantastic, Ivan's Camera, Colpitts Men's Wear, and La Mine D'or, while entrepreneurial giants like restaurant (Pizza Delight/Mike's Restaurant chain) icon Bernard Imbeault call Moncton home.
A successful past and a promising future, retail history continues to be made in the hub city.
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