Description of Historic Place

The Wright House is a one-and-one-half storey wood framed New England style house located in Bedeque, PEI. It has a symmetrical facade, separated chimneys, and a gable roof. It is located on a treed property near the south arm of the Dunk River. The registration includes the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

The Wright House is valued as an early example of New England style architecture; for its association with the Wright family who were United Empire Loyalists; and for its association with the development of Methodism in PEI.

Nathaniel Wright (1765-1825) was born in Westchester County, New York, near the New England border. During the American Revolution, his family remained loyal to the Crown. He served in the Loyalist militia, while his father lost his property and was jailed for nearly a year by the Patriots. At the conclusion of the war, Nathaniel was part of the wave of United Empire Loyalist (UEL) refugees that came north. He arrived first in Shelburne, Nova Scotia, and then made his way with William Schurman and other Loyalist families to St. John's Island (PEI), arriving on July 26, 1784. In 1786, he received a land grant of 300 acres in Prince County.

It is believed the current house was constructed in 1807, when Nathaniel, his wife Nancy Lord, and their seven children moved from Tryon to establish a farm near the Dunk River. Recent renovations to the building have exposed construction methods (birchbark under clapboards) concurrent to that time period. The house has a symmetrical facade, clapboard siding, an arrangement of six-over-six windows, and a Georgian interior plan. The house is similar in style to those found in New England.

Nathaniel had been raised as a Quaker, but converted to Methodism in PEI. He invited travelling Methodist missionary preachers to use his barn as a venue for services and later hosted other Wesleyan preachers in his home. Bedeque and Tryon became major centres of the Methodist faith on PEI.

Source: PEI Heritage Advisory Committee Files

Character-Defining Elements

The following character-defining elements illustrate the New England architectural style of the house:
- the wood frame construction and overall massing of the one-and-one-half storeys
- the symmetrical arrangement of the windows and doors
- the larger six-over-six sash windows of the first floor
- the smaller six-over-six sash windows of the upper floor
- the clapboard siding
- the gable roof
- the position of the separated chimneys
- the location of the house near the Dunk River in Bedeque