Ferblanterie Ouellet (reproduction)
In New Brunswick, the tinsmith trade took hold at a rather slow pace. While a few workshops could be found in some major English-speaking centers as early as the late 1860s, it wasn’t until about ten years later that the first tinsmiths set up shop in certain Acadian communities.
The Village historique acadien’s tin shop is a reproduction of Ferdinand Ouellet’s store on Principale Street in Shediac. It is set in 1905. In his store, in addition to making a host of everyday items, he sold stoves from the Sussex foundry.
Mr. Ouellet seems to have been a prominent figure in Shediac society at the time, as he was a member of the town’s very first municipal council.
The construction of the tin shop is typical of most stores and stores of the early 1900s: vertical half-timbering, with large windows on the façade on either side of the door; the interior comprises only the workshop and a small back store. Like most shops, this one is built close to the road, whereas family homes are set back from it.
