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The Kings County Museum and Jail
The Museum is located in Hampton in the picturesque Kennebecasis Valley. Built as a Centennial project, it contains about 4,00 artifacts of many categories. These include textiles, china and glassware, military, royalty, furniture, art guns, and archival material.
Official opening of the Museum was held on June 1, 1968 and consist of 2 parts. The first in the Centennial Building and the other in the Old Jail next door.
The Museum's greatest treasure is the "Confederation Conference Quilt" made from cuttings of dresses worn by the ladies who attended the balls and galas of the Confederation Conferences in 1864 at Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
The vault contains many genealogies, place histories, cemetery information and several valuable artifacts including the weights and measures formerly used in the Court House.
The old jail was moved from Kingston to Hampton when the Shiretown of Kings County was changed. It was dismantled and moved with horses then re-assembled. The jailer's quarters were added latter and now house the Vivian Myles Fowler Library.
A lease was signed in 1989 with Supply and Services for the use of the Old Hampton Jail. Houses most of the furniture collection plus a "school room", Henry More Smith's cell, a child's room, kitchen, farm implement rooms. a creamery and many photographs of the river boats.
Featured in the "Braman Room" of the old jail is a bed donated by the first curators, George and Lillian Braman. It was built by one of Mr. Braman's ancestors during the 1860's, the head board is carved from single piece of wood.
The Museum is administered by the Kings County Historical and Archival Society, Inc. which has 437 members. They can be reached at P.O. Box 5001, Hampton, New Brunswick, E0G 1Z0.
The collection of artifacts and archival material has grown substantially due to the efforts of George and Lillian (Fairweather) Braman, Ernest Graham, and W. Harvey Dalling.