When John Hubbard's uncle died in June 2008, nobody wanted to move into his house.
It was old, with high ceilings and no insulation to help keep the heat in during the cold winter months.
The almost 150-years-old building on Ferry Road was on small patch of land between two much newer homes until Monday when heavy machinery knocked it down.
John Hubbard inherited the house from his uncle David and said the person who tore it down told him it was the first house he had seen with no insulation.
"No fiberglass. No blown. No nothing."
John said the family got together after David died to decide what to do with the old house.
"In order to make it livable it would have cost an unbelievable amount of money."
The house wasn't the only old building torn down in the Miramichi recently. The owners of the 117-year-old McCombs Farm off King George Highway tore it down over the weekend.
McCombs Farm was built in 1892 in the Neo-classical style and was designated a local historic place for its architecture, its past function as part of a working farm and its association with former owners.
It was recognized as a local historic place on Nov. 24, 2005.
Local historian Francis Malley said the house was always used as a home, but for a time it took in overflow from the Miramichi Hotel.
"At the time it was the premiere hotel in town."
Although it was one of Miramichi's largest homes, its design wasn't unique and it was typical of the era in which it was built, he said.
"It was much larger than the typical home and representative of Miramichi's well-to-do at that time. Whoever built it certainly had means."
Although it was listed on the province's register of historical places, Miramichi doesn't have a bylaw in place to protect historic buildings.
Wellness, Culture and Sport spokesperson Danielle McFarlane said the farm was on the register as a place with a story of note, but the designation didn't provide it any protection.
"It doesn't mean that it's a provincially designated site."
Even if a site isn't provincially designated, some municipalities have bylaws in place to protect historic sites, but Miramichi isn't one of them, she said.
"I know Miramichi doesn't have a bylaw."
There are six municipalities with heritage bylaws in New Brunswick. Moncton, Saint John, Fredericton, Caraquet, Rothesay and Sussex all have laws in place to protect historic buildings.
Miramichi city clerk Jim Lamkey said city council passed a heritage bylaw, but it hasn't been approved by the province yet.
"We're just tying up a few loose ends."
McFarlane said the provincial register is a new information tool for people who want to learn about New Brunswick's historic sites with more than 1,000 listed on it.
"It hadn't all been collected and accessible before."
John's house wasn't a provincially designated site either and didn't have any protection from demolition, but some of its features will live on after the rubble is cleared away.
Family members took some of the molding around the door frames, several heavy wooden doors and a few of the other well crafted parts of the house. John said he took an old fireplace he is getting installed in his home next door to the old house.
"Anything that was good, people got out of it what they wanted."
If there had been interest from a family member, the house might not have stayed vacant, but John said it shared a common driveway with his home.
"I couldn't have sold it."
The demolition started earlier than planned when snow brought down the porch after John removed a post he wanted to use to build a gazebo.
"There'll be lots of parts of it around," he said.
John said he didn't know how the craftsmen who built the house were able to do what they did with the tools they had at the time, and some of the features, like the fireplace wouldn't be found today.
"I would say 150 years ago it would have been a pretty fancy house."
Community development and tourism director Peter Murphy said sometimes it's difficult to maintain an old building and it's not always feasible for the owner.
"We certainly hate to see them go, but you have to look at the expense to the owner."'
There are several buildings around the Miramichi listed as provincial historic sites, including Beaverbrook House, Loggie House and the old courthouse.
Other municipalities have commented on the extent of historic site preservation in the Miramichi, despite a lack of involvement from the city, he said.
"I guess it's just the people themselves who see the value in protecting a property."
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