Douglas Harbour Community Centre

About the hall

Over 160 years of community.

Built in Scotchtown before 1864, the hall has been home to meetings, suppers, dances, card parties and elections for generations.

History

  1. Before 1864The hall is built — the exact date is unknown.
  2. February 8, 1864William Edward White and his wife Catherine sell the hall and land to trustees for ten dollars, for meetings of the Sons of Temperance, public worship, and gatherings promoting "religious, moral, literary or scientific interests." Dancing, balls and theatre were expressly forbidden.
  3. 1940sThe oldest surviving trustee records show meetings, card parties, community suppers — and dances. Residents have voted here in federal and provincial elections ever since.
  4. 1980sA busy decade: turkey and beef suppers in the fall, strawberry and ham suppers in summer, dances and variety shows. For one dinner, more than 60 local women donated food.
  5. 2007The roof is renovated, the building is placed on a foundation, and a front entrance is added.
  6. TodayWeekly cards, yoga and fitness, community meetings, and family gatherings of every kind.

A committee is forming to write a complete history of the hall. If you'd like to help or share a memory, get in touch.

The wall mural

Inside the hall hangs a mural of 50 photographs gathered from community members — the people, places and features of the surrounding community during the 160-year life of this building.

The wall mural: fifty black-and-white photographs of Douglas Harbour and Scotchtown
The mural in the hall. Tap to enlarge.
The mural with each photo numbered 1 to 50
Photo key — match each number to the list below.
Who and what is in each photo (1–50)
  1. The May Queen steamship at Scotchtown Wharf. She ran regularly between Saint John and Chipman carrying passengers and cargo.
  2. Kenneth, Allan and Eldon Hunter — three sons of Harold and Georgia, who are pictured in photo #33
  3. Greta Palmer — on her 100th birthday
  4. Russell Hunter — working in the field with a team of horses
  5. Freda and Charlie McCoy — attending a Valentine's Day dance in the hall
  6. The Balmain farm — still standing
  7. Calvin Lunergan
  8. Firewood saw crew — local men worked together to cut firewood in spring for the following winter, using a shared mobile saw driven by a tractor
  9. Douglas Harbour school students, L–R: Dorothy Palmer, Irene Palmer, Louise Coakley, Pearl Earle, Annie Hunter. Back row: Burton Hunter
  10. Benjamin Tibbits — inventor of the compound steam engine, recognized posthumously with a marker in the Scotchtown Cemetery
  11. Murray Coakley as a young boy on the farm. He is also found later in life in photo #21.
  12. Dorothy Palmer and Pat Norrad Clark — local teachers. This photo was taken in the hall.
  13. The Reindeer steamship — the first ship with Benjamin Tibbits' compound steam engine. Tibbits is shown in photo #10.
  14. Douglas Harbour
  15. Lorne, Herbert, Charles and Harold Briggs — 1943, in Manchester, England
  16. Road grading crew — Scotchtown Road
  17. Volunteer firefighters receiving their 10-year recognition. Front row: Bob London, Ron Hunter, Rick Hunter, Paul Stewart. Back row: Dwight Emberley, Clifford Stewart, Floyd West
  18. Stanley Butler — on his wood boat
  19. Charles Coakley — in his navy uniform, photographed at the Coakley farm, the current site of Grand Lake Park
  20. Land grant map — Grand Lake west
  21. Douglas Harbour wharf construction crew. Back: Harold Post, Harry Anderson, Rupert Post, Hanford Balmain, Lloyd Hunter, Charlie Wasson, Otto MacFarlane, Earle Carle, Roy Knapp, Lawrence Clark, Murray Coakley, Chesley Hunter. Front row: Fred Palmer, Chester Miles, Odbur Hanselpacker
  22. The Post homestead
  23. Douglas Harbour Community Centre — sometime after World War II, as electrical power lines are in place
  24. Scotchtown school children, 1924. Back row: Herbert Church, Lily London, Jo Purves, Jean Purves, Reg Purves. Middle: Frank Church, Ruby Denton, Wendell Purves, Eltie London. Front row: Cecil Denton, Hanford Balmain
  25. Jessie Balmain
  26. Sypher's Cove
  27. Sunnyside Beach
  28. Douglas Harbour Community Centre
  29. Coakley farmhouse — on the current site of the Grand Lake Municipal Park (also known as Princess Park)
  30. Hunter residence — currently Bertie's Restaurant
  31. Albright residence — Sypher's Cove
  32. The May Queen steamship — at Robertson's Point
  33. Harold and Georgia Hunter
  34. Ruby Denton's residence — Maquapit Lake. Ruby is also found in photo #24 as a student of the Scotchtown School in 1924.
  35. Palmer's Store — the first store in the area
  36. Loyalist Rock — located at Sypher's Cove, it has since fallen into the lake. Posed in front is Earle Carle, who is also found in photo #21.
  37. Scotchtown school — located at the corner of Scotchtown Rd and the Back Rd; no longer standing
  38. Bob and Ardith London's wedding reception, held in the hall in 1970
  39. The Purves residence — still standing on Scotchtown Rd
  40. Sypher's Cove
  41. Douglas Harbour volunteer firefighters — early 1980s
  42. The May Queen steamship at Douglas Harbour Wharf
  43. The United Church in Scotchtown — still holding Sunday service after 100 years
  44. Douglas Harbour Community Centre — renovating the roof, placing the building on a foundation and adding the front entrance in 2007
  45. Russell and Harold Hunter with a team of horses and a sled for hauling wood
  46. Ethel and Rupert Post
  47. Douglas Harbour
  48. Russell and Harold Hunter with a team of horses named May and Queen
  49. Hunter's Ferry Bridge — built 1912–1914, destroyed by fire in 1975, at the current site of the causeway
  50. Russell Hunter — with his first truck

Spot a correction? Email dhhallsales@gmail.com. More photos are in the photo gallery.

Board of directors

The board meets at the hall on the first Tuesday of each month at 7:00 PM.

By-laws of the board

Friends of the Hall

Our mission is to maintain and expand the hall as an active community centre — for sewing classes, yoga, card parties, dances and special events, including our famous summertime pancake breakfasts.

Fundraising — together with federal funding and a lot of volunteer labour — has paid for a new roof, foundation, septic system and wheelchair-accessible washrooms. Operating costs are covered by hall rentals and the pancake breakfasts; everything else is supported by fundraising like this. Friends of the Hall receive an engraved plaque displayed at the centre.

$100

2″ × 3″ plaque

$500

3″ × 5″ plaque

$1,000

5″ × 8″ plaque

Contact us to become a Friend of the Hall →