Description of Historic Place

The Black-Palmer Residence is a two-storey Queen Anne Revival residence with a veranda on the front and side façades, a small second storey balcony and an ornate two-storey bay on the front façade. It is located on the northwest corner of Church Avenue and Oxford Street in Sussex.

Heritage Value

The Black-Palmer Residence is designated a Local Historic Place for its association with the Reay Melbourne Black family, for its association with the Emily Palmer family and for its architecture.

The Black-Palmer Residence is recognized for is association with Reay Melbourne Black family. The Black family owned and occupied this residence for three generations. Colonel Reay Melbourne Black is best remembered for smoothing the unification of the Canadian Forces in 1968. He was the first Base Commander of CFB Chilliwack following unification. He was also the first Director General Military Engineers, again part of the unification process. Colonel Black held degrees from Mount Alison University, Royal Military College, the University of New Brunswick and the London School of Economics where he was a Beaverbrook Scholar. He was the Town Engineer for the Town of Sussex following his retirement from the Armed Forces.

The Black-Palmer Residence is also recognized for its association with Emily Palmer who was deputy mayor of Sussex from 1986 to 1989, and mayor from 1990 to 1992. Ms. Palmer is a lawyer who practiced in Sussex, who initially ran her practice from this residence, and was the first female Mayor for Sussex.

The Black-Palmer Residence is also recognized for its architecture. The house was built by Fenwick Wallace, who later founded Wallace Funeral Home, in 1888 for Emily Teakles. Ms. Teakles later married C. T. White, who owned C. T. White Woodworking. The Black-Palmer Residence is a good example of Queen Anne Revival residential architecture. This is evident in its asymmetrical form and volume, as well as in the ornamentation of the residence. The house exhibits several features of this stylre, including a veranda on two sides of the building, a second floor balcony, shaped shingles, elaborate brackets and bargeboard trim.

Source: Town of Sussex, Historic Places file #S-3-08

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements that relate to the Queen Anne Revival style of the Black-Palmer Residence are:
- asymmetrical two-storey massing;
- veranda on the east and south façades;
- clapboard siding;
- two-storey bays on the east and south façades with fish scale shingles under gable roofs;
- turned spindles at the apex of each gable;
- regular arrangement of rosette mouldings;
- diagonal clapboards under the second floor window of the east bay;
- hipped roof.