Completed in 1828, the John E. Woolford designed building served as residence of the Lieutenant-Governor until 1890, at which time the incumbent Lieutenant-Governor, Sir Leonard Tilley, refused to continue to live in the building for lack of a maintenance budget. It then served as a Deaf and Dumb Institute, a military hospital for veterans and the RCMP “J” Division headquarters from 1932 until 1990.
In 1999, after much renovation, the building again became home to the Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick. In 1958 the building was declared a National Historic Site and on February 2, 1996, a New Brunswick Provincial Historic Place.
With the Lieutenant-Governor's residence occupying the third floor, the first and second floors are today open to the public as a tourist attraction.
Government House was constructed from 1826-28 to be the residence of New Brunswick's Governors and Lieutenant-Governors. The home is constructed of New Brunswick quarried sandstone and situated on eleven acres on the banks of the St. John River in Fredericton. It is a significant cultural landmark in Fredericton and the Province of New Brunswick. From 1828 until Confederation, most of the important decisions affecting the Province were debated in the building.
Government House had a number of uses from Confederation to 1996. It was a school for hearing impaired students from 1896 to 1900, a military barracks during World War 1 and a hospital for returning soldiers after the war. From 1934 to 1988 the building served as RCMP J Division headquarters.
Since its re-opening in 1999, New Brunswick's Government House has been open to the public. Restored rooms include the drawing room, the dining room, a library, a music room, two conservatories and the original Lieutenant-Governor's office on the main floor. The second floor includes exhibit rooms and the current Lieutenant-Governor's office. The Lieutenant-Governor's residence is on the third floor and closed to the public.
Fifteen of New Brunswick's Governors and Lieutenant-Governors have lived and worked at Government House.
From Government House