Berwick on the move

Longtime residents of Berwick know the town had its beginnings on Main Street in 1810, and had its first building erected near the Main and Commercial crossroads. For a number of reasons, buildings were often moved by their owners to another location. These moves were often lively events which involved a large number of people of all ages.

In the mid-1930s, William Brennan married Miss Hinkle, a school teacher from Halifax, and purchased a farm about one mile up the Pleasant Valley Road. Mr. Brennan decided to move his boot and repair shop from the crossroads into a barn on his farm. This move took a number of days to complete and several teams of oxen were used. The rattling of chains and the shouts of the young people as they placed “rollers” under the moving shop would have attracted a lot of people.

Along with the coming of the Windsor and Annapolis Railway came the moving of Henry E. Jefferson’s “Golden Boot” shop to the corner of South and Commercial streets. This shop was converted to a large department store and rented by S.J. Nichols for a lengthy period of time. In 1888, the store was changed to a fine hotel, which tragically burned in 1896.

In 1876, one of the longest moves ever to take place in Berwick was of the Anglican church from Grafton to the apple capital. This church has since been enlarged and stands on its original Berwick site.

The large school and temperance hall built in 1850 on Main Street across from Maple Avenue was moved to the east side of Commercial Street, across from the Baptist church, where it became Aberdeen Hall. It remained the centre of entertainment for several years and was moved to Main Street to become part of a large department store. The business was destroyed by fire in 1909.

In the late 1890s, the blacksmith’s shop, owned by Wentworth Ells for many years and located just north of Berwick’s crossroads, began its long, uphill climb to the corner of Mill and Commercial streets. This shop became known as the Chute Block and was used by several businesses over the years. The building was later divided; one part is now a hardware store and another part is now home to the Apple Capital Museum.

Early in the 20th Century, N.W. Keddy moved a store across the street to the west side of Commercial Street. The move was made with a small number of oxen, so the store moved slowly. Mr. Keddy continued to serve customers while the building was being moved.

For the purpose of establishing a home for his family, W.O. Bligh bought a house on the Pleasant Valley Road which he intended to move to Berwick. Although Mr. Bligh was widely known for his good judgement, there were doubts about his ability to cross the one-lane bridge over the Cornwallis River. As the house reached the river, some large poles piled at the station yard were placed across the river and the building was dragged on these poles to the other side.

In the late 1930s, the United Church of Canada purchased a house on the east side of Commercial Street, north of the Anglican church. The plan was to move the house and build a church on the lot to replace the Main Street church, destroyed by fire in 1938. The moving of this house, all downhill to its present location on Main Street, was accomplished by Cottage Street resident Harry Baker and his horse, Blenum.