Description of Historic Place

Situated between the towns of Digby and Weymouth, Samuel Deveau's Hotel is an early Gothic Revival home with a low pitch gable roof and is currently occupied by the Sissiboo Veterinary Clinic. Both the building and the surrounding property are included in the heritage designation.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of the Westway Inn is its role in the community, its history and age. The Gothic Revival style house was built in the 1830s for Samuel Deveau, who was a French-speaking Acadian originally from Clare. He later operated it a hotel and stagecoach stop on the route from Digby to Weymouth. The hotel, then known as Sam Deveau's Hotel, played a significant role in the formation of Digby County’s transportation system at a time when no train service was available. The hotel was also the birthplace of Samuel’s son Oliver who discovered the abandoned ship the Mary Celeste, an infamous maritime mystery. The house was sold and later became the Westway Inn. Presently it serves as a veterinary clinic.

Source: Built Heritage Inventory, Municipality of the District of Digby.

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the Westway Inn include:
- heavy capping over doors and windows and heavy cornice returns;
- form and massing;
- indentation of the doorway;
- six-over-six style windows.