**Serving Bay of Fundy tourists since 1988**

Your innkeepers, Elsie and John O’Regan, have lived in this area all their lives.

As a small child, Elsie grew up watching the boats come and go from the Alma wharf.  Her grandfather, Issac Cooper, was General Manager for C.T. White & Sons, which operated lumbering and sawmill operations at Point Wolfe and other locations during the late 1800's. John was raised in nearby Hopewell Hill.  Both his great-grandfather, Daniel Francis O'Regan, and grandfather, Charles Nicolas O'Regan, were innkeepers of the O'Regan House once located there.

Elsie and John bought the general store next door in 1979 and operated it until 1994. Both the store and this property were once owned by Captain Leonard Martin, who came from a family of men born for the sea. The original Martin home was burned in a 1926 fire that virtually devastated Alma.  

The O’Regan’s bought the house in 1981 and in 1987 commenced renovations to transform it into an inn. They bestowed upon it the name Captains Inn to honor and remember the well-known Martin family, who spent so many years on the sea. 

The following history was written by Lenora A. Martin, 
daughter of Captain Leonard Martin:  

Among the many ships related to the Alma ship-building of by-gone days, those of Capt. Owen Martin played a most prominent part. As owner and Captain, his life and that of his family were strongly bound together by the tradition of the sea.

The first vessel built by Capt. Martin was the P.C. Copeland, which was built at Point Wolfe. The remaining three vessels were built in Alma, on the land now occupied by Irving Oil and the Parkland Hotel. These were, in order of launching, Busirus, Gondola and Heber. Capt. Martin sailed the Busirus to England many times, during which his wife often accompanied him, and brought home many mementos, including fine china and linen.

Capt. Martin later built the Gondola, and with his two sons, Leonard and Owen, sailed from Maritime ports to Boston, carrying cargoes of lumber and grindstones for the grinding mills at Stonehaven, Mass. His son, Capt. Leonard also sailed this vessel, which is verified by the accompanying logbook. One of the sailors, and the lone survivor of these expeditions, is John Rossiter, Sr. of Alma.

In 1888, Capt. Martin left the sea to build his vessel, the Heber, turning the Gondola over to Capt. Perrie Martin, who lost it on a reef off the shores of Quebec. Capt. Perrie, who had lost two previous ships, refused to leave the ship and lost his life as well.

It was during the building of the Heber,. At the age of 52 that Capt. Martin and his son Leonard fell from the staging. Capt. Martin was killed instantly, and his son Leonard was badly injured, however Leonard recovered. He completed the Heber and sailed it himself. Shortly thereafter, Capt. Leonard Martin, having left the sea, was in the General Store business and his brother Owen had taken up farming as an occupation.

Thus was ended a never-to-be-forgotten chapter in the history of Alma and its sailing ships.

Lenora A. Martin
May 15, 1962

Updated 21 February 2012
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