top of page
Search

Picture This






Women Who Wander NB


2022 Adventure Three







A picture is worth a thousand words.


Problem is, after this wander, we have a thousand PICTURES to share and a thousand words to go with them! What a beautiful spot we have to tell you about this time!


The Women Who Wander NB had the pleasure of visiting the Ministers Island Historic Site, former estate of Sir William Van Horne, located on Ministers Island just on the outskirts of the town of St. Andrews, New Brunswick. We were excited to be there and to take a step back in time where affluence was expected andopulence was de régulier.




Ministers Island originally got it's name because of a renowned and well respected Church of England Minister, the Reverend Samuel Andrews, who, in 1791, purchased the island from Captain Samuel Osborn for 250 pounds.






Fast forward to more modern times, 1890.



While the good Reverend Andrews was still living on the island, a young man of 47 years old came calling and after brief negotiation, he convinced the Andrews family to sell him 150 acres of the more than 700 acres making up Ministers Island.



This uber wealthy young man happened to be William C. Van Horne, President of the Canadian Pacific Railway.




Van Horne came to Ministers Island with a goal. He was intent on making his mark by building a small cottage where he wanted to spend summers with his family and friends, only returning home to Montreal in October of each year.


Over the next number of years, Van Horne purchased additonal acerage, designing and building a restful but productive hamlet he named Covenhoven, after his father. Van Horne took great enjoyment in supervising Covenhoven's operation himself until he died in Septmeber of 1915.


Following her father's strategy, Van Horne's daughter, Adeline (Addie) continued buying up bits and pieces of Ministers Island until 1926 when she purchased the last parcel and the family finally owned the entire 700 acre island.


After Van Horne's death, his family managed to maintain and enjoy Covenhoven until the late 1950's but without the patriarch at the helm, interest in continuing to support the aging property faded and the real estate agent was called to put the For Sale sign on the lawn.



Due to it's poor condition, in 1958, for a mere $80,000. you could have made this 50 room furnished fixer-upper your very own!




Covenhoven and it's surounding property was subsequently sold more than once over the following years. Each owner made alterations to the building and property - some impressive, others not so much.


Ultimately, property was left to it's own devices and deteriorated more and more as the years passed.


The price tag for restoration would have been staggering for any private owner.



Understanding the importance of preserving the history connected to the area, in 1977 the Province of New Brunswick purchased Ministers Island intending to restore it all to it's former glory and in 1996 it was designated a National Historic Site of Canada sealing the deal to protect it forever.


The Women Who Wander NB found it quite astonishing to see the result of the restoration and what has been accomplished in the house and on the property.



We think Van Horne achieved his 1890 goal to build himself a small "cottage".


As it turned out, of Covenhoven's 50 rooms, 17 rooms are bedrooms and 11 are bathrooms.


The design also included a generous 40 foot, covered Porte-Cochère (verandah to you and us) supported by inspirational sandstone pillars. It is an area where the Van Horne's could have comfortably entertained most of St. Andrews - all at the same time!







The drawing room is a whopping 40' x 26' in size and opens to the verandah by large french doors.


The room boasts a giant Persian carpet that is rumored to have taken six strong staff members to carry outside for cleaning each Spring.







The massive pillars on either side of the drawing room fireplace soar floor to ceiling and are carved with columns of grape vines which were inlaid with gold leaf.









The majority of the 17 bedrooms were for family members and guests with the rest for staff and domestic help.


What a difference there is between the primary bedrooms and those of the staff ! Where do you suppose you would have slept had you been at Covenhoven in those days?


Of all the bedrooms in the house, The Women Who Wander NB felt that the bedroom built and decorated for the children staying at Covenhoven was the one that most captured our imaginations.


This bedroom was heated by a fireplace fitted out with sweet Dutch tiles. The room was decorated with a painted frieze, (what some would likely call a hand-painted border) on the wall around the ceiling. The tiles and the frieze were hand painted by Van Horne himself for his grandson William who often visited Covenhoven with his parents.



Van Horne and his wife, Lucy, had 3 children. Their oldest son tragically died at the age of 5. Their children included daughter "Addie" and younger son "Bennie" (who married Edith Molson of the Montreal Molsons). Bennie and his wife Edith were the parents of Van Horne's much-adored Grandson (the child was named after his Grandfather).


When Van Horne designed the cottage, he provided every imaginable creature comfort for the household. A dining room that could comfortably seat 40, cozy reading nooks, relaxing sunny corners, a cards room and a music hall were all there to provide extravagant distractions and entertainment for famly and guests!





The domestic staff weren't left behind in the design plan.


Of benefit to the household domestic help, modern conveniences such as a flower room, a laundry, a well equiped and modern kitchen, a large storage room, a Butler's pantry and a sewing room were all part of the design.











Although the Women Who Wander NB were completely taken with the cottage, there was so much more to see. The day of our visit was beautiful. A day filled with sunshine shimmering off the waters of the Bay of Fundy and warm breezes blowing on shore. So, to the shore we went to have a look at the bathouse and the natural salt water swimming pool!



It was a bit of a walk for a hot day but what a good decision THAT turned out to be! Seeing the bathouse, the old changing rooms downstairs and the salt water pool that are filled twice a day by the incoming tide made the walk well worth the effort!


The big payoff though, was the stunning views from the bath house windows. Absolutely breathtaking!


Knowing that the clock was ticking away we beat a hasty retreat to the parking lot desperatly trying to avoid being "stuck" on the island by the quickly rising tide. (Truth be known, we would have loved being "stuck" there for a few hours by ourselves)!


We didn't have time to tour the barn and other out buildings but we weren't sorry one bit. A very good reason to go back for another visit!


Thought you might be interested in seeing how the Van Horne family lived (in Montreal) when they weren't at Ministers Island!

No wonder they considered Covenhoven a cottage! Van Horne was heard to declare one time, "Ah, yes, the Van Horne mansion is big and bulgy, like myself!" He was talking about their Montreal home which was demolished on September 10, 1973.


We recommend a two day visit to Ministers Island to make sure you have enough time to take in the barn, the bath house, the wind mill, the original home of Reverend Samuel Andrews, and other structures on the property as well as the cottage .


The tide wasn't waiting for us so, in the nick of time, we scrambled across the gravel bar and headed to the Town of St. Andrews and lunch! We'll tell you about that part of our Wander soon! In the meantime........

Just adventure!

Women who Wander NB

Lynne , Barb & Gail







For more information about The Women Who Wander NB please visit our website:

3womenwhowander.wixsite.com/mysite.1

(Don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss our updates)


Or follow us on Facebook at

Women Who Wander NB

 
 
 

1 Comment


elskelly
Oct 14, 2022

Thank you ladies. I especially appreciated the photos of Montreal home.


Like

© 2023 by Brian Hill. Proudly created with Wix.com

bottom of page