One of the oldest homes in New Brunswick, built in the 1700s, was destroyed by fire on Thursday, along with countless antiques, old documents and family heirlooms.

The home, located at Carter's Point on the Kingston Peninsula, north of Saint John, was fully engulfed by the time fire crews arrived at about 6 a.m.

"The wood was so dry, there was no saving it, I don’t think," said Sean Whelpley, whose great, great grandfather, Capt. John Wilfred Carter, sailed from England and settled in the home in 1854.

"One of [the firefighters] from the Long Reach area said it was the hottest one he’d ever been in," said Whelpley.

"Like I say, I’m just glad dad got out."

Stanley Whelpley, who is in his late 80s, said he was putting some bark and kindling in the wood stove when he heard "snapping" noises coming from the wall.

"I put my hand on the wall, wasn’t warm at all so I thought, 'Well, can’t be any fire anywheres.'"

But then he opened a cupboard near the chimney and smoke came "rolling out."

"That's the first I knew there was anything wrong," he said.

"Nothing I could do, just get out, that's all."

Whelpley and his daughter, Lois MacFarland, both escaped without injury.

Long Reach Fire Chief Randy Gowlett said the first responders knew right away they needed help.

"We called a full-zoned response, which brought in about five to seven different departments and fought it as best we could," he said.

Working in a wind chill of – 35 C, firefighters chopped a hole in the ice of the St. John River to obtain water.

All they could do was keep the fire from spreading beyond the house, Gowlett said.

The historic home burned to the ground.

"Huge, huge loss," not only to the family, but the entire province, said historian Judith Baxter.

She says the house is likely one of the oldest in the province, pre-dating the Loyalists, possibly built by Dutch planters.

It was a "treasure trove," said Baxter, co-author of Life and Times: Recollections of Eliza Cox Carter, Whelpley's great grandmother.

"There were I don't know how many tables in there that would be an auctioneer's dream," said Baxter.

"Eliza Cox Carter had travelled with her husband on journeys to India and around the world. She brought back many, many treasures. They were still there."