Backyard History

At age 15, Hugh Corkum becomes a rum runner to provide for his family after his father, a Lunenburg Nova Scotia sea captain, loses his job after crashing into an American sumbarine.   Part Two of the 'Liberty On The Rocks' trilogy about the Liberty, the fastest rum running ship of Atlantic Canada!   Buy the Backyard History book at backyardhistory.ca/book

The Mounties lay a trap for The Liberty, the most famous rum running ship in the Maritimes during Prohibition!   Part one of a three part series called "Liberty On The Rocks." Book: backyardhistory.ca/book

A killer sent boxes of poisoned candies to religious leaders of Saint John, in this, the Backyard History's magnum opus episode!

Isolated islanders find a unique way to let Canadians know a storm cut them off from the mainland.

As Babe Ruth's life fell apart, he headed into the woods of the Maritimes in a secret and mysterious effort to get better...

The story of a little horse named Princess Louise who was rescued by Canadian soldiers during the Second World War and brought home to New Brunswick (against all the rules!)   This story appears in the book ' Backyard History: Forgotten Stories From Atlantic Canada's Past Volume Two ' 

Juliana Horatia Ewing, a Victorian British author in Fredericton, formed an unlikely friendship with Welastekokewiyik master canoe builder Peter Polches, challenging societal norms; her transformative experiences led to a notable confrontation defending Indigenous people at a prestigious New Year's Party in 1869.

Backyard History's Christmas Special for 2023!

The dramatic rise and fall of Fredericton's curious detox centre, which involved patients taking a gold-based medicine to cure alcoholism!   https://backyardhistory.ca/the-long-reads/f/the-dr-leslie-e-keeley-gold-cure-institute-for-drunkards

As explosions rang out in Halifax in 1945, ordinary Haligonians raced toward the central ammunition storage depot to stop the flames before the city blew up … again!   backyardhistory.ca/f/the-second-halifax-explosion

Two young men volunteer to for a mysterious secret mission in Russia. One of them will not make it home alive.   https://backyardhistory.ca/f/canadas-forgotten-siberian-expedition-ollie-winslows-odyssey

One of the Maritimes’ most popular ghost stories is the tale of a cursed, eternally burning sailing ship haunting the waters off of the Northern coast of New Brunswick.   https://backyardhistory.ca/f/the-ghostly-fire-ship-of-the-baie-des-chaleurs

Leon Trotsky missed the beginning of the Russian Revolution because he was in -of all places- Amherst, Nova Scotia.   https://backyardhistory.ca/f/trotskys-maritimes-revolutionary-roadblock

PEI didn't even know it was at war when the American fleet appeared. The invaders went house to house stealing clothes, carpets, and curtains ... and their Great Seal. However, one Islander who was taken captive went on to become an important spy...   Buy the books at backyardhistory.ca/books    

A spy arrives by U-Boat to sabotage Canada. He isn't very good.   https://backyardhistory.ca/the-long-reads/f/the-worlds-worst-nazi-spy

Houdini goes to Halifax. When his circus is arrested, he has to reevaluate his whole career.   https://backyardhistory.ca/f/how-his-maritimes-tour-saved-harry-houdini-pt-2-halifax

A young Harry Houdini was on the verge of giving up on magic until a Maritimes tour changed his life.   https://backyardhistory.ca/f/how-his-maritimes-tour-saved-harry-houdini-pt-1-saint-john

A forest fire approaches the thriving town of Musquash, sending its residents fleeing to a nearby marsh for safety.   Musquash was a thriving community on the Bay of Fundy, boasting several factories, mills, a railway station, and a port. All of that came to an abrupt end when the town was completely destroyed in only a couple of hours one afternoon in 1903.   https://backyardhistory.ca/articles/f...

Everyone ignored the warnings. But the predictions were right: the storm of the century hit at exactly the hour that one man had predicted a year before... www.backyardhistory.ca     #weather #storm #astronomy #astronology #Canada #history #strange #podcast #podcastsofcanada #backyardhistory #story #true #newengland #boston #halifax #novascotia #newbrunswick #pei #mystery #spooky #paranormal

Nova Scotia (and New Brunswick) came much closer to joining the United States than a lot of Canadians today would be comfortable with!   https://backyardhistory.ca/f/benjamin-franklins-worthless-nova-scotian-land

Two Kates go to the Yukon Gold Rush. One becomes famous, the other is forgotten. But who was the REAL Klondike Kate?   https://backyardhistory.ca/f/the-real-klondike-kate

In 1949, a little Canadian island off of the coast of Nova Scotia declared itself to be its own country.     Calling itself The Principality of Outer Baldonia, it quickly developed all of the trappings of an independent nation: it had its own currency, postage stamps, its own flag, and a coat of arms boasting on it pictures of a tuna fish, a sheep, and a smiling lobster.    It soon became “one of...

How did 111 Russian coins get buried in Bathurst? Who did it? Where did they come from and what happened to them? Lets dig into this Backyard Mystery!

Giant squid attacked Newfoundland fishing boats in 1873. This was all the more shocking because at the time people didn't believe giant squid were even real. Soon, the entire world's attention would turn towards Newfoundland.   https://backyardhistory.ca/f/giant-squid-attacks-in-newfoundland

Flying Through History as The Red Devil Takes to the Skies!   On a clear Autumn day in 1912 thousands of people gathered to see the world famous Red Devil.   Amid a backdrop of the Saint John Exhibition -then the second largest in the country- competing with Toronto’s CNE for position of biggest Exhibition in Canada, another rivalry was playing out.   The Red Devil’s pilot, Captain Baldwin, was co...