Description of Historic Place

The Jeffery Homestead is an old-style country home, originally a one-and-one half storey centre-chimney gable home with additions including an ell with a flat-roof verandah and shed-style addition with a corner verandah, located in the rural community of Alma.

Heritage Value

The Jeffery Homestead is valued for its age, its association with the Jeffery family and its importance to the community.

The Jeffery Homestead was built in the late 1860s to replace a log cabin occupied by Stephen E. Jeffery (1830-1911), his wife and two sons when they first settled in Alma in 1860. The Jeffery family initially settled in St. Eleanor's but relocated to Alma following Stephen Jeffery's purchase of a 100-acre farm there. The community of Alma at that time was sparsely populated and was little more than wilderness. Jeffery farmed and had a blacksmith shop and small store on the property. Jeffery was married 3 times and father to 13 children. Today his descendants number more than 500. A family picnic was held on the property in 1995 and in August 2010 a Jeffery family reunion picnic celebrating the 150th anniversary of this property and the 200th anniversary of the Jeffery family settlement in Prince Edward Island.

Stephen Jeffery was a founding member and first warden of Holy Trinity Alma Anglican Church when it opened in 1890. The Jeffery family has had a long association with the Anglican church and Rev. Robert W. Dyer, Anglican missionary to the West Prince area from 1859-1886 frequently visited the Jeffery Homestead and on occasion held services there. In June 2010, a special commemorative service was held in the Jeffery Homestead in which Rev. Dyer's great-granddaughter Rev. Sylvia Dyer participated.

A single-storey kitchen wing was added to the centre chimney gable style house in the 1920s which modified the style to an Island-ell. A new piazza or verandah was built on the front or east side of the house and several interior renovations were completed by master carpenter Bruno (Pitre) Peters of nearby St. Louis. This work was carried out during the home's occupation by Stephen Jeffery's son David and his wife Bessie. David continued to farm the property and undertook some blacksmithing work and Bessie taught piano lessons in the home and often held public recitals.

In 1963 the Jeffery Homestead was purchased by Wilbert and Verna Jeffery who raised the 5th generation of the Jeffery family in this home. In 1972, to accommodate a growing family, further updates were completed to the interior -- a new porch and master bedroom were added to the east side of the house, and a new foundation was placed under the kitchen wing - turned living room.

The Jeffery Homestead is a well-maintained home which continues to be an important landmark in the community of Alma.

Source: Culture and Heritage Division, PEI Department of Tourism and Culture, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the residence is shown in the following character-defining elements:

- the overall massing and proportions of the residence
- the centre chimney construction
- the central chimney made of local bricks
- the corner verandah with gingerbread trim
- the symmetrical south facade
- the single-hung windows
- the steep pitched roofs