JOHNSTON, WILLIAM (1817-1901)

JOHNSTON, WILLIAM, stagecoach operator, hotel proprietor, and harbormaster; b. Norton, N.B., 1817; m. 1848, Agnes Dickson; d. Chatham, 21 Feb 1901.

William Johnston became a beneficiary of the bankruptcy of Donald McBeath & Bros in 1844 when he was awarded a contract to operate a mail stage on the route which they formerly served between the Miramichi and Dalhousie. In the years that followed, "The Northern Stage," as he named the service, became an institution, faithfully carrying both mail and passengers through one of the least hospitable regions of the province in all seasons of the year.

In conjunction with the stage, Johnston took over operation of Foran's roadhouse, midway between the Miramichi and Bathurst. He was still occupying it in 1857 when Mrs Foran, who was then residing in Chatham, advertised it for sale. In 1861 he and his family were settled at Douglastown, where he conducted a small hotel. In the same period, he purchased the former James White hotel property in Chatham. He had both commercial and residential tenants in the White building when it was lost in a major Chatham fire in 1865. Soon afterwards, he built the Canada House hotel on the same site. This was advertised in July 1867 as being open for both "transient and permanent boarders," with meals available "at all hours," and Johnston was still conducting it at the time of his death in 1901.

While living in Chatham, Johnston was harbormaster for two terms (1873-77 and 1879-98), separated by period in which he was out of political favor. For many years he was a trustee of St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, and he had an involvement in the temperance movement. He and his wife, Agnes Dickson, raised eight children. Their daughter Mary Johnston was the wife of William Wilson. Their youngest son, James D. Johnston, owned Canada House and made his home there. In 1929, when it was partially gutted by fire, the house was no longer being used as a hotel.