Description of Historic Place

The Hector Carter House, Henhouse, Fishing Shed and Property is an early twentieth-century, two-and-a-half storey residence, with associated outbuildings, located on a small island called Ship Island, connected to Greenspond Island via a small wooden bridge. The property encompasses a two-storey, wooden, steep gable roofed house; a small henhouse; a small storage shed (fisheries); and the land on which they sit. The designation encompasses the entire property.

Heritage Value

The Hector Carter House, Henhouse, Fishing Shed and Property has been designated because of its aesthetic and historic values.

Aesthetically, the house is a good example of outport vernacular architecture that has remained unchanged since its original design. Typical for the time, this house was constructed of wood and has a steep-pitch gable roof, narrow wooden clapboard and wide, flat mouldings surrounding wooden windows and doors. The house is simple and unadorned, but the wide corner mouldings, cornice above and wide, flat mouldings around the doors and windows add some decoration. The 2/2 wooden windows are usual for the age of the structure, as are the wide sills and plain, plank storm doors. The main doors to the house are constructed of wood panels and have coloured glass portions. This building has two chimneys, extending from the roof ridge on each gable end, and two roof ladders are affixed near them.

The henhouse and fishing shed are located in close proximity to the main house, and their designs emulate the design of the residence. Both constructed of wood, with narrow wood siding they are utilitarian in design and function. The henhouse has a sloping shed roof, a plank door and transom-like window, while the shed has a mid-pitch gable roof, wooden windows, a plank door and a small linhay on its side façade with its own door.

The property is wide and open, revealing the Atlantic ocean on all sides. The rocky, grassy area is unobscured by fences and roads. This property, and the neighbouring residences, are arranged organically on Ship Island.

The Hector Carter House, Henhouse, Fishing Shed and Property is historically valuable for its associations with Greenspond as a longtime fishing port and trade route. First settled in the 1690s Greenspond is one of the oldest, continually inhabited outports in Newfoundland. Greenspond’s chief asset was its proximity to the inshore cod fishing grounds. During the 19th century fishermen not only exploited the local fishing grounds, but also fished other areas, including Labrador. By the mid-19th century Greenspond had become a prominent supply centre and clearing port for the Labrador fishery, which led to the appointment of a collector of customs by the Colonial government in 1838. The community thrived and became a major trading centre because of its proximity to and its position on the main sea lane, and was known as the “Capital of the North”. Its importance as a major trading and supply centre meant that Greenspond enjoyed a steady population growth of prosperous tradesmen and artisans such as tinsmiths, blacksmiths, coopers, cobblers and carpenters. The Carter family has long been associated with this area, registered to have had fishing rooms many years prior to the 1805 Bonavista records.

Source: Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador, Minutes #62.

Character-Defining Elements

All those original, vernacular, architectural elements of the dwelling house, including:
-wood construction;
-two-and-one-half stories;
-narrow wood clapboard;
-steep pitch gable roof
-end chimneys extending from the roof ridge;
-wooden roof ladders;
-original wooden 2/2 windows, their sizes, dimensions, materials and locations;
-original wooden multi-paned windows on main façade, their sizes, dimensions, materials and locations;
-wide flat mouldings surrounding all windows;
-wide flat mouldings surrounding all exterior doors;
-cornice above doors;
-wide window sill;
-rear enclosed porch with shed roof;
-wide wooden corner boards;
-returned eaves on gable roof;
-door and window openings, sizes, dimensions, materials and locations;
-wood plank storm doors with traditional style latches;
-wooden panel exterior doors with 1/3 coloured, textured glass panes; and
-location, orientation, dimensions.

Those original elements of the outbuildings, including:
-wood construction;
-narrow wood clapboard;
-wide corner boards;
-original wooden windows, their sizes, dimensions, materials and locations;
-original wooden plank doors with traditional style latches;
-orientation, location, massing and dimensions;
-of the henhouse the sloping shed roof;
-of the fishing shed the mid-pitch gable roof and the side linhay with sloping roof; and
-generally unadorned, utilitarian appearance of both structures.

Those elements of the property, including:
-the open grassy areas;
-natural flora and fauna existing on the land;
-rocky outcrops; and
-unobstructed view of the Atlantic ocean and of Greenspond Island.