The New Brunswick Historical Society is a historical society based in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. Their mandate is the research and documentation of the history of St. John County, New Brunswick, and, to a lesser extent, Kings County, New Brunswick. It was founded in 1874, by Joseph Wilson Lawrence, a furniture maker of Saint John. The early society amassed an important library of titles and documents significant to the history of the province, however, most of this was destroyed in the Great Saint John Fire of 1877. Members of the society have included many published historians, notable public figures, as well as interested local citizens. In 1960, the society acquired a property in uptown Saint John known as the Merritt House, which had been occupied by the Merritt family since 1810. It serves as the headquarters of the society. The society’s library owns over 23,000 volumes on natural and local history and it publishes its annual Bulletin.