Description of Historic Place

The Eustache Bourque Residence is located on Amirault Street in the Saint-Anselme sector of Dieppe. This one-and-a-half-storey, wood-frame building from the early 19th century has a low-pitched roof.

Heritage Value

The Eustache Bourque Residence is designated a Local Historic Place for its association with the Acadian leather industry, its architecture, and the Bourque family.

The Eustache Bourque Residence is recognized for its association with the leather industry during the last quarter of the 19th century. E.D. Bourque & Son, the company run by Eustache Bourque, also known as 'Piroune' (goose) (1841-1895), was the largest shoe factory among the Maritime Provinces’ Acadian population. Albénie, Eustache’s son, was his partner. The company was established in the 1860s and its economic impact on the parish was significant. The workforce consisted of about 15 labourers, men and women from the region. A jack of all trades, Eustache was justice of the peace, postmaster for 47 years, a merchant, and a hotel owner. His house was located near the factory which repaired shoes and harnesses, and there was also a tannery in the building. The parish farmers sold their livestock skins to the tannery. The shoes produced were sold to stores in the Maritimes and to individuals in southeastern New Brunswick. Around 1898, shoe production ceased and the factory then served as a shoe repair shop and a lath mill until it was finally demolished around 1915. The company also managed a general store, located on what is now Marguerite Street, behind the paternal home.

The Eustache Bourque Residence is also recognized for being among certain Acadian houses built in the early 19th century. A dendrochronological analysis concluded that the trees used in the construction of the original part of the house were felled in 1827. It was around 1828 when Raphael Bourque (c. 1784-1874), the grandfather of Eustache Bourque, built this house. It is a one-and-a-half-storey wood-frame building with a low-pitched roof. The façade had four windows, which is rather unusual since most Acadian houses at the time had two windows. The frame is made of hand-hewn beams. The southern part of the house is the oldest. The northern extension, the summer kitchen, dates from 1879. By 1891, the building had 10 rooms.

The house also served as the post office from 1871 to 1895. It remained in the family until the 1980s. During the years 1880-1900, the Eustache and Nathalie Bourque family was one of the most well-to-do Acadian families in the province. Eustache Bourque was actively involved in local community affairs. In 2006, a new owner converted the ground floor into a restaurant. He took care to leave exposed the hand-hewn ceiling beams and the interior wall studs. The old cladding of the exterior walls and the number of openings on the façade were restored to reflect the house’s original appearance. The Bourque family archives, presented to the Centre for Acadian Studies, are among the most extensive holdings on the Acadian commercial sector.

Source: City of Dieppe, File D21

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements relating to the location of the Eustache Bourque Residence include:
- proximity to former site of the factory;
- proximity to former site of the general store.

The character-defining elements that describe the architecture of the Eustache Bourque Residence include:
- 1 ½ storey wood frame massing;
- low pitched roof;
- four windows on the façade.

The character-defining elements of the interior of the Eustache Bourque Residence include:
- wide beaded boards on the ceiling of the main floor;
- blackened ceiling of the kitchen;
- ceiling of the family bedroom left in its natural colour;
- inscriptions on the ceiling beams made before the ceiling was covered with boards around the mid-19th century, followed later by a plaster covering;
- original walls of the kitchen plastered between the pillars;
- cellar walls of cut field stones, typical of old Acadian houses.