I came across a link this evening on Facebook that shocked me…..
I grew up in a tiny rural community where everyone knew everyone else, and you also knew the history behind every family home. One of these family homes was known as the Hetherington Mansion.
During my lifetime there were a few different families that owned the house, but during my high school years the family that owned it opened their home on many occasions to the community for events including community Christmas parties. The first person I remember owning the house when I was a kid was Mrs. Tapley. I found this brochure and article on the house tours she conducted.
A brochure promoting House Tours
Today this beautiful old home burned down…..pretty much to the ground. What a shock!!
The Hetherington Mansion...up in flames.
Check out this link to see the video: CTV Atlantic – Historic mansion destroyed by fire in Codys, N.B. – CTV News.
A historic mansion has burned to the ground in rural New Brunswick. The century-old home in Codys was built in the early 1900s and became a landmark in the tiny community, but flames destroyed the house this morning.
“It’s kind of a shame to see the old homes disappear like they are,” says Codys resident Allan Bond, who witnessed the fire.
“It used to be quite a landmark. If someone was coming, you’d tell them to look for the big brown house and give them direction to where they were going.”
Fire crews from five communities responded to the blaze around 9 a.m. Friday, but the 26-room mansion was already engulfed in flames. It burned to the ground within hours.
“We couldn’t get too close because of the size and the heat that was coming off it,” says Capt. David Craft of the Cambridge Narrows Fire Department. “We just tried to hit it with water.”
The home was built in 1906 and was home to Anna Hetherington and her husband Judson, who became an MLA, Speaker of the House and the provincial secretary treasurer.
A couple from Western Canada recently purchased the mansion, but they were not home with the fire broke out this morning.
No one was injured in the blaze, but nothing was salvaged from the home.
RCMP and fire officials are still trying to determine in what area of the home the fire started, and what caused it.
Another article I found with some history on the property:
An expansive, historic, 105-year-old home in Codys has been destroyed in a fire.
The property – known as Hetherberton, once home to former MLA and Speaker of the legislature Judson Egbert Hetherington and his noted wife Anna Hetherington – burned Friday morning.
RCMP Cpl. Graham Milner said police officers responded to the site along with firefighters.
“We’re investigating it because we haven’t determined the cause of the fire,” he said.
The blaze hasn’t been deemed suspicious as of yet, Milner said. Officers are waiting for the fire marshal’s office to determine the cause.
He said officials were unable to do so Friday because there were still a few hot spots.
The fire call came in shortly before 9 a.m. Friday.
According to an Anna Hetherington history on the New Brunswick Museum website, Hetherberton was constructed in 1906.
It was intended as a summer home for the family, but soon became its primary residence.
Fredericton residents Don and Carol Drury purchased the eight-bedroom home in 1981 and lived there and restored it until they sold it and moved to the capital in 1995.
Carol Drury said her husband grew up in the nearby Sussex area and the large home caught his eye as a youth.
“He always said, ‘I want to live there some day,’ ” she said, noting when they got the chance to purchase Hetherberton, they jumped at the chance.
It was just the two of them in the large residence, she said.
“We roamed about that place with pleasure,” Drury said.
She said the home had a national historic designation when they bought it, and it was renewed during their time in the home.
Drury didn’t know if Hetherberton still carried the historic designation at the time of its destruction.
The couple learned of the fire Friday as it’s remained in touch with former neighbours in Codys.
Drury said she believed the most recent owners were a couple of Vancouver.
She was sorry to learn of its destruction, she said, as she and her husband still felt a strong connection with the place.
The New Brunswick Museum website stated native New Brunswicker Judson Egbert Hetherington had practised medicine in Chicago, where he met his wife.
The couple and its two daughters moved to Codys after he retired from medicine in 1906.
They purchased a 25-acre estate on Washademoak Lake, where they had Hetherberton built, along with an additional carriage house, bungalow and boathouse.
I was always fascinated by this house….so much character……
The Mansion
The landscape of my old community will certainly have changed today. I am sure the neighbors are as shocked as I am at the loss of this community landmark.
My Life.... 
I am well acquainted with Hetherberton (a.k.a. The Hetherington Mansion, as it was known amongsts residences in Codys).
A former resident of Codys from 1969-1982, I attended many functions at Hetherberton; social gatherings, Christmas parties, etc. I knew (and was close friends) two of the previous owners, Cowans and Drurys.
In 2007, I write the history of Hetherberton, timelining the five previous owners of Hetherberton which was published in the River Valley Newspaper. I am currently in the process of editing my article and resubmitting my article to the River Valley Newspaper, in light of the recent fire that destroyed Hetherberton.
HELLO WE ARE THE OWNERS OF THE HETHERBERTON HOUSE THAT BURNED TO THE GROUND NOV.4, 2011. I CAN TELL YOU THAT DAY WILL LIVE IN OUR MINDS FOREVER. WE WERE THANKFUL FOR OUR LIVES DEVASTATED FOR OUR LOSS.
WE ARE REBUILDING THE HOUSE AS CLOSE TO ORIGINAL AS POSSIBLE. I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE IT CLEAR WE WERE NOT THE OWNERS FROM VANCOUVER B.C. WE
PURCHASED THE HOME FROM THEM. IT WAS VERY RUN DOWN WHEN WE ARRIVED IT WAS OVER GROWN. RACCOON’S AND MICE HAD MADE A HOME IN EVERY DRAWER AND ON EVERY SHELF. WE NEVER CONSIDERED IT A MANSION IT WAS A BIG RAMBLING HOUSE FOR CHILDREN, DOGS, CATS AND CHAOS. WE HAD FAMILY TIMES AND GOOD FRIENDS TO SHARE IT WITH. THE PEOPLE OF CODY’S ARE THE KINDEST PEOPLE I HAVE EVER MET. THE WOMEN’S INSTITUTE SENT ME A BEAUTIFUL QUILT WHICH WHEN I OPENED IT OVER WHELMED ME SO MUCH I CRIED. IT IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL QUILT I HAVE EVER SEEN AND I WILL CHERISH IT FOREVER. OUR HOME WILL BE FINISHED IN 18 MONTHS. WHEN IT IS WE ARE HAVING A PARTY FOR THE COMMUNITY AND ALL WILL BE NOTIFIED. IT WILL NEVER BE THE SAME WE KNOW THAT.BUT SOME OF THE ORIGINAL STONE WORK AND BRICK WILL BE BUILT IN THE HOUSE AND I WILL HONOR THE MEMORY OF THE
HETHERINGTON’S. SINCERELY GAIL AND PETE POTTER
I am interested in knowing more of Gail and Pete Potter’s desire to rebuild Hetherberton much to it’s original design. According to the Potter’s, 18-months to complete the rebuilding of Hetherberton would be March 2014. I am most interested in seeing pictures of this newly rebuilt Hetherberton. My email address is kcrannie@hotmail.ca I am interested in making personal contact the Potter’s to learn more. Please feel free to forward my email address to Gail and Pete Potter.
Hey Kevin, nice to hear from you. I remember you well, we went to school together. I think we all attended the community gatherings with the Cowans and the Drurys. They were quite the events and the house was amazing. I haven’t been back to Codys for nearly 12 years so it will be one more change I’m sure I will notice when I do return.
I have been in Toronto for the past 23 years, and have made several trips back to Codys throughout the years. The last I was in Codys was in 2007 when I organzied a family reunion for the decendants of the late Archdeacon H. A. Cody, after whom the community was named. I stopped by Hetherberton. The house was unoccupied, grounds unkept, and the western facade destroyed by a severe winter windstorm. Hetherberton was restored by the new owners from Vancouver, and landscaping upkept.
The community has changed throughout the years. So many of the long-term residents I knew growing up in Codys have since past on.
How the years have past us by. I didn’t recognize you until I viewed your picture. Where are you living? You have my email address? Fire off a line . . .
When things like this happen, a death occures, and mourning takes place. Some say, “pshaw. It is just a house.”. But it is not. It is memories of warmth and beauty and stability. So i am sad for you and yours, as it needs to be remembered only in memories. Thank you for writing.
Hi Anna,
How do I get in touch with Gail and Peter Potter? I am interested in knowing more of the couple intent to rebuild Hetherberton.