Description of Historic Place

The Alvina LeBlanc Residence is a small house situated on Dover Road in Dieppe, with original rectangular massing and a steeply pitched gable roof on the south side. A section fitted with a dormer has been added on the north side.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of the Alvina LeBlanc Residence lies in its being a representation of a late 19th century rural labourer’s home, in the movement of houses toward the main roads when electricity came to the country, and in the importance of fruit trees to the subsistence of rural families.

The age and architecture of the house comprise its primary heritage value. Modest in size, this house is typical of a small rural house of the late 19th century in this region. The original house is a simple one-and-a-half-storey rectangle covered by a steeply pitched roof. As the ground floor was used for the kitchen and living room, the floor above was reserved for three bedrooms. The addition on the north side made it possible to take in a second family at one point. The framework of the original structure was cut with a circular saw and attached with gauge wire nails, which point to relatively recent construction. However, the presence of vertically sawn milled planks, mortised boards, and blown glass indicate that recycled materials were used. Oral history suggests that the main part of the house would have been built before 1900. The section on the north side would have been added around 1928, shortly after the original rectangle was moved. (A receipt from the Lounsbury Company, found inside an E.B. Eddy matchbox between the walls, allows us to give this approximate date.).

Another heritage value of this house lies in its relocation during the era of electrification of the rural areas. According to oral tradition, the house was built south of its current site, near the old back lot line and Folly Lake, close to the present-day limit between the City of Dieppe and the Village of Memramcook. This hamlet of a few houses, which at one time bore the name of Neil’s Folly, would have been abandoned in the early 20th century, probably around 1928, when electrical power was installed on the main country roads. Neil’s Folly had a restaurant and dance club situated near Folly Lake, with a filling station and boating facilities. It was operated by Neil McKay of Moncton until about 1960.

Mrs. Alvina (or Albina) LeBlanc (1894-1982), the daughter of Edmond and Sara Gauvin and wife of Raphaël LeBlanc, became a widow at a young age. To provide for the needs of her family, she planted a series of fruit trees and shrubs on her land. They yielded apples, crabapples, plums, cherries, raspberries, and more. She sold her products at the Moncton markets. Several of those trees and shrubs are still on the property.

Source: City of Dieppe, Historic Places File (2), F4-1

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements that describe the Alvina LeBlanc Residence include:
- one-storey rectangular plan of the house;
- extension, built around 1928;
- original door and window openings;
- steeply pitched gable roofs;
- dormer that breaks the eave;
- fruit trees and shrubs.