Stoneycroft
by Andrew Coombs
January 7, 1981
Astride Windy Hill, about 500 feet above the Kennebecasis, on the old Hampton Road, sits Stoneycroft, formerly known as the Magee farm and 11-mile house. Though rough in construction it is a notable landmark due to its prominent located, advanced age and its early role as a Public House and Inn. In this last regard it is especially important due to its largely untouched condition.
Supported by substantial timbers, pine planks ranging up to 15 inches in width form the walls of the building proper as well as those of a side shed which is attached to the house by an entrance off the kitchen. Wooden shingles cover some of the exterior walls while the side and read walls are clapboard. The three floors are connected by a central staircase immediately opposite of the front door, much in the style of early roadhouses. On the main floor there sits one room on each side of the stairway, the one on the right having been the diningroom with its built-in pantries and easy access to the kitchen in the rear. Above, are four bedrooms, two on each side of the stairway, and above that, the attic. The only significant change in the appearance of the property is the absence of circular brick driveway which would have allowed for easier manipulation of horse-and-carriage on shorter stays at the 11 mile house.
Though now situated on barely an acre of land, it was once the focal point of a 100 acre grant which was early in its history, whittled down to 50 acres and were later added to neighboring parcels of land by the Magees. With more recent developments in the area of Ritchie Lake and the subdivision of the Magee farm it was to its present size. The changing purposes of this land from Inn to farm and finally, to private residence has resulted not only in the decrease in the amount of land attached to Stoneycroft but, recently, the demolition of a barn in the rear of the property – though what was once a chicken coop and a shed still remain directly behind Stoneycroft on the property.
The history of Stoneycroft remains, however, more interesting than the structure itself. Caleb Whetmore, sr., was born in Rye, Massachusetts in 1768. Emigrating to Saint John with his father’s family in 1783, he was prominent in the early history of New Brunswick having served as an officer in the King County militia and on the Saint John Common Council for many years. Two of his sons were to settle on land grants in the lower Kennebecasis River valley. Caleb jr., born in 1799, was, in 1817m granted 200 acres of vacant land, on Lot 3, between the grant to Albijah Watson on the Kennebecasis and the Westmorland Road. His older brother James II, was, in 1818, the time of James’ grant, and 1820 when James married Rumah Hoyt of Hampton It was certainly built before May of 1824, for at that time we James Whetmore, innkeeper, signatory to a petition to the House of Assembly requesting compensation for work done on a road near his home. His brother’s name appears on a like petition in the year 1820 for his work as a road supervisor. These dates correspond roughly to those suggested for the construction of the present Hampton Road. Despite the increased traffic we might suppose existed after its completion, the proximity of this establishment to Saint John implies that it probably served primarily as rest-stop on the way to either Sussex of Moncton. Certainly the degree to which James found his livelihood as an innkeeper is suggested by later records which show his sustenance derived as much from farming as from innkeeping.
Despite this, James was as public spirited a citizen as could be desired. His name is those among those petitioning that St. Luke’s church in Gondola Point be consecrated. In 1836 for a mere 5 shillings Hames deeded a 40 foot square plot of land for the purpose of promoting education as well as selling a somewhat larger plot to William Warell, school master.
In 1840 Hames Whetmore sold what remained of his property, 50 acres of which including the inn, went to Robert Bradwell, a grocer of Saint John. Mr. Bradwell sold the property in 1871 to David Magee and Matthew Manks. It was the Magees who first called the property Stoneycroft, having named it after their home in Ireland. This property was in addition to their original property as they had, in 1870, purchased some 70 acres of the grant originally belonging to Caleb Whetmore.
David Magee and Matthew Manks were related by marriage as David had married Sarah Maria Manks in 1853 at St. Luke’s Church in Portland. To this were probably added commercial consideration, as Matthew Manks was a grocer whose establishment could have been on the north-side of King Square.
In 1874, however, Manks turned over his interest in Stoneycroft to the Magees who held onto the property until 1937. They are best known in the area for having provided dairy produce for the area around Rothesay and Quispamsis. Annie and Kathleen Magee, the last of the Magees to have owned Stoneycroft, were also widely known for the tearoom in which they operated in Stoneycroft for a number of years around the turn of the century.
In 1937 the present owner. Mrs. Ethel P. Robinson, acquired the property and since that time it has served as a private residence, though for a time, she too operated a sort of tearoom.
Stoneycroft has survived over 150 years of service to the communities around, first an in Inn, then as a farm and restaurant. Still it sits over the Kennebecasis, a reminder of harsher and more simple times. Stoneycroft is a building whose historical and architectural value alone warrant its conservation, but to these can be added its prominent role in the development of the communities around, making it a structure of considerable value to the community as well.
