Description of Historic Place

The Corbitt House is a two-and-one-half-storey, wood frame Neo-classical style house located at the end of the residential section of St. Anthony Street at the intersection of Church Street in Annapolis Royal, NS. Both the house and property are included in the municipal heritage designation.

Heritage Value

Historic Value

The Corbitt House, at 204 St. Anthony Street, Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, as recognized by its municipal heritage designation, is valued for its contribution to the architectural landscape of the town and its association with early Annapolis Royal school teacher Icabod Corbitt.

During the French period before 1710, St. Anthony Street (or rue St-Antoine) was the second major street in Annapolis Royal and met St. George Street at Fort Anne and the original government wharf. By the early 1800s, as activity gravitated to the waterfront, this part of the town was used as farmland and was known as the "Cooper Field." When railway lines were run through the area in 1869, the houses that occupied the Church of England Glebe land were removed to make way for a rail yard. Some of these dwellings, including the Corbitt House, were relocated to St. Anthony Street and the newly created St. James Street. An exact date of construction is not known. It is possible that the house may be of late eighteenth-century construction; a theory supported by the long tradition that it had been the home and school of early educator Ichabod Corbitt (1760-1861). From 1890 to 1930, it was the home of Simon W. Riley, an employee of the Windsor & Annapolis Railway.

Architectural Value

Although many of the windows have been modified, the Corbitt House is a good example of the Neo-classical style as interpreted in Annapolis Royal. The house is quite simple with a few decorative features – the side bay window and a front entry porch are additions. The house does have the remnants of a partially removed brick chimney. Unlike the other houses on this section of St. Anthony Street, the gable end of the Corbitt House does not face the road.

Source: Town of Annapolis Royal Heritage Property Files, Corbitt House

Character-Defining Elements

Character-defining elements of the Corbitt House relate to its Neo-classical style and include:

- two-and-one-half-storey;
- wood frame construction;
- small front entry porch;
- one-and-one-half storey ell;
- one-storey side bay window;
- placement of second-storey front windows with their heads under the eaves;
- gable roof;
- clad in wood shingles.