Description of Historic Place

The Frédéric LeBlanc House is a two-storey residential building in the Four Square style. Built around 1914, it is located on Champlain Street in Dieppe.

Heritage Value

The Frédéric LeBlanc House was designed a Local Historic Place for its architecture and for its association with master stonecutter Frédéric LeBlanc.

The Frédéric LeBlanc House is recognized for its role in introducing the Four Square architectural style to Dieppe. At the start of the First World War, master stonecutter Frédéric LeBlanc, known as Frédéric à Basile, was in his mid-fifties; although married, he had no children and was financially well-off. He decided to build the most modern house in his village, Coin-des-Léger (Léger's Corner) or early Dieppe, which now makes up the city’s northern sector. He chose one of the most fashionable American models, consisting in a large square house with a hipped roof, inspired by the Prairie architecture of architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The construction benefited not only from the expertise of Frédéric LeBlanc but also and above all that of his brother and neighbour, Simon, a carpenter and entrepreneur. Quickly imitated by his neighbours, this model was most popular in the Dieppe region during the 1920's and 1930's. The Frédéric LeBlanc House was probably the one that introduced this style in the Dieppe region.

Frédéric did not have long to enjoy his large modern house, since he died around 1925. Left alone in all of this space, his widow sold the house to Napoléon Poirier, who resold it to Henri Bourque. The house is unusual in that it was built not for a young man on the eve of marriage but for a middle-aged man, a master builder, who had no children and was already looking ahead to the end of his career. This master stonecutter is responsible for several large elegant buildings in the region, notably the St. Bernard's Church and Mary’s Home in Moncton.

Source: City of Dieppe, Historic Places File (2), A7

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements that describe the Frédéric LeBlanc House include:
- design inspired by the American architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright;
- main building with almost square dimensions;
- hipped roof;
- dormers on front and left façades;
- on the left, side addition extending to the roof;
- original interior baseboards, door frames and window frames.