The first stop today is in Brigus, the Hawthorne Cottage National Historic Site. But first we have to get there, it is about one hour out of Saint John’s first on the Trans-Canada main highway and then on smaller country roads reaching the Brigus downtown where we spend some time to find parking as there is no parking near the NHS proper. We find some parking near the post office and then walk to the NHS site, we are curious if it is open as supposedly it closes this weekend for the season and today is Sunday.
The house is quite a nice one actually especially for the middle of the 19th century. It was built at a different location and then moved to Brigus in 1833-34. In fact at that point it was smaller with a few additions being built afterwards. And then the search is on to find out if it is open, the main entrance is closed with a note saying to use the side entrance. When we get there two people leave dejected and we assume it might be closed. But we try our luck again and lo and behold it was simply stuck and the museum is actually open.
Before entering we explore the gardens a bit more, there are a few informational panels and the red chairs, we found out about them while examining the national parks in Newfoundland supposedly it is a new initiative to set the chairs in scenic locations in national parks for photos and instagrammable moments.
And then in we go, the first museum room is actually also the room where we buy tickets, it has background information about the famous Captain Bartlett who lived here. He is famous for his Arctic exploration trips, what we didn’t know is that many of them were made with the goal of catching or collection animals for zoos, seems there was a healthy demand for them at least at the time.
We start with the sitting room which is nicely furnished with most chairs arranged around the stove as you would expect for an area that is more known for its cold months than warm weather.
We continue through the dining area before making our way upstairs. We are the only tourists inside for the majority of our visit which allows us to enjoy the cottage more fully.
Upstairs we follow the narrow corridor while peaking in the rooms on both sides. Here we cannot enter the rooms proper we can see them only over a glass barrier.
This was the bedroom floor with both the last owner and maid having rooms on this floor as well as the master bedroom being located here, it was not used by the last owner who preferred her own smaller room.
Back at the bottom level we also explore the lounge which is now a shrine to the different awards that Captain Bartlett received, some are quite interesting to read as we try to understand if these societies still exist. And then it is time to exit as we have to explore another even more historical site nearby.
