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Dewitt Residence

Dewitt Residence

The construction date of this modest cape cod style home is uncertain. The date 1850 is carved into the central chimney of the home but social historian Kenneth Gilmour, from Nova Scotia Museum, believes that the home predates this inscription.

Mr. Gilmour suggests that the home was built in the late eighteenth century and that the inscribed date may have been chiselled into the chimney when the house was remodelled in the 1850's, at which point a Victorian mantel and mouldings were also installed.

The current owner, Mr. Adrian Dewitt, acquired the property in 1986. The home acts as a small summer retreat for the Dewitt’s who are current USA residents. The living room, or parlour is decoratively painted from top to bottom in an interesting manner. The lower half of the wall below the chair rail is marbleized while the upper half of the wall is comprised of a mixture of patterns and motifs. A cloudy style of patterning is crowned with a stylized stencilled border which, in some areas, is now barely visible. This border gives way to a more primitive double zigzag design which culminates into a curtain and tassel motif. The artwork (oil paint on wood) is original, yet the artist remains unknown.

pPresently, Mr. Dewitt is concerned about the condition of the painted surfaces as the paint continues to crack and flake.

City: 
Malignant Cove

Province:

Property Type:

Herititage Designation:

Reason(s) for Designation: 

Mr. Dewitt applied for a Municipal Heritage Designation in 1987 through the Historic Places Initiative, now the Heritage Properties Program. He was told to wait and heard nothing over the course of the next twenty years. He has reccently tried to re-apply for Heritage status but was informed that the Antigonish Heritage Designation system was "defunct". Contact: Gavin Barret.

Public:

Construction Details: 
Construction Date: 1800
Current Owner: 
Adrian Dewitt