Description of Historic Place

Léger House is a typical Acadian vernacular house from the mid-19th century located on Acadie Avenue in Dieppe.

Heritage Value

Léger House is designated a Local Historic Place for its association with the name of the village of Leger Corner, for its architecture, and for its association with the Léger family.

Léger House is recognized for being one of the residences of the Léger family, from which the village of Leger Corner gets its name. It was not until the construction, in 1867, of a bridge over Tanacadie Brook, now Hall Brook, that a trail was developed. That trail is now Champlain Street, which meets up with Acadie Avenue. A few Léger families lived at what is today the intersection of those two streets, and that is why the community formerly known as ‘Village-d’en-haut de la Petcoudiac’ or ‘French Village’ gradually took on the unofficial name of ‘Coin des Léger’. That name became “Legere Corner” in 1896, when the post office opened, changing to ‘Leger Corner’ in 1930. In February 1946, Agnès Elsliger proposed the name Dieppe for the incorporated village, which was expanded several times, becoming the Town of Dieppe and eventually the City of Dieppe. Three brothers, Thaddée, Jean, and Joseph, sons of Joseph dit ‘Petite Houpe,’ grandsons of Joseph dit ‘Flusan,’ and great-grandsons of Jacques Léger dit ‘Larosette,’ and their descendants settled on the paternal land, Jacques Léger being among the first inhabitants of ‘Village-d’en-haut de la Petcoudiac.’

Léger House, built circa 1857, is recognized as well for its vernacular-style architecture and for the modifications, including extensions to the original structures, to meet changing needs. As oral tradition would have it, the house was moved a few times in Leger Corner and originally came from Painsec. The house is shown on the Walling map of 1862 in its current location. It is said to be the oldest house associated with the Léger family of ‘Coin des Léger.’ It is a good example of Acadian architecture from the mid-19th century.

Léger House is further recognized for the fact that its occupants have left their mark in the community. It was the home of Louis-Napoléon Léger and Alfred Léger. Louis-Napoléon was one of the workers on the first church in ‘Coin des Léger,’ in 1930. Alfred was the first manager of the caisse populaire and the clerk of the Town of Dieppe (1959-1974). Also, the house was the location of Dieppe’s first caisse populaire for a few months. It was in the kitchen of this house that the first deposit (25¢) was made by Alban Léger in 1938.

Source: City of Dieppe – File D1

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements that describe Alfred Léger House include:
- typical vernacular frame;
- shape of the original roof;
- most of the doors and windows being in the original locations;
- several extensions still in place.