The Hocken Block is a brick Classic Revival-style commercial building in what was once the heart of the former Town of Chatham’s business district. Erected by local master builder John McDonald, the building is notable for its brick construction. During the 1890s, traditional wooden buildings began being phased out in favor of brick structures as a way to deter the block fires that had frequently ravaged often tightly-packed commercial districts in the past.

The Hocken Block was originally constructed for and owned by English-born merchant Richard Hocken. The building was split into two halves, which housed different stores. Several businesses briefly occupied the eastern half until it was purchased by W.S. Loggie Co. Ltd. in 1902, whose ownership it stayed in for seventy years.

In 1892, the west side of the building was acquired by druggist J.D.B.F. MacKenzie, being turned into ‘MacKenzie’s Medical Hall’. MacKenzie was involved in the Chatham community in several ways, being the co-founder and first president of the New Brunswick Pharmaceutical Society, a director of Dalhousie University, and a member of the Miramichi Natural History Museum. MacKenzie also had a notable military career, being Lieutenant Colonel and commanding officer of Miramichi 73rd Militia Battalion and serving as aide-de-camp to Lieutenant Governor J.B. Snowball. During the First World War, MacKenzie led the taking of Newcastle’s Wireless Field in defending Canada from enemy forces.

After MacKenzie’s death, the business was given to employee Walter Scott. The pharmacy was renamed "Scott’s Drug Store" in 1939 and is open to this day, now occupying the entire building.