Description of Historic Place

William Walker House is a one-and-a-half storey wood frame house in the Neo-classical style located on Prince Albert Road between Elliot and Hawthorne Streets in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. It is one of the oldest houses in the area, facing Sullivan's Pond that is across the street. The municipal heritage designation applies to the building and the surrounding land it occupies.

Heritage Value

William Walker House is valued for its association with its original occupant and the early economy of Nova Scotia. The house was built and named for William Walker who was a shipbuilder and was involved with the operations of the historic Shubenacadie Canal. The Canal was a significant civil engineering achievement and was pivotal in the history of Nova Scotian transportation. The Canal is a 115 kilometer inland waterway that consisted of nine locks, seven lakes, two inclined planes (ship railway) and the Shubenacadie River and linked Halifax Harbour to the Bay of Fundy between 1826 and 1870. Walker designed the sixty foot steam boat “Avery” that had a semi flat bottom for shallow draught that could easily navigate the often narrow and shallow Canal and allowed Walker access to maintain the locks. The Canal was vital to the flow of goods between Halifax to the Bay of Fundy and beyond for almost a century.

Architecturally, William Walker House is valued for being one of the oldest houses in Dartmouth. The house a wood framed one-and-a-half storey house, built in the Neo-classical style based on the New England model that features a fat central chimney, small roof overhangs and a steeply pitched gable roof. This style of house has vertical sliding windows that appear rather large in scale compared to the house, with simple trim and delicate glazing bars.

Source: HRM Heritage Property File: 119 Prince Albert Road, William Walker House, found at HRM Planning and Development Services, Heritage Property Program, 6960 Mumford Road, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of William Walker House relates to its Neo-classical style and includes:

- wood framing;
- one-and-a-half storeys;
- wood shingle cladding;
- steeply pitched roof;
- shallow eaves;
- plainly decorated;
- central doorway;
- symmetrical five bay façade;
- wood panelled door;
- nine-over-nine windows;
- large dormer style projection on both the front and rear elevation;
- two double windows in front and rear projections;
- large central brick chimney.