Description of Historic Place

The Nehemiah Belyea House is a traditional one-and-a-half storey wood-framed Cape Cod house built on a knoll on the banks of Washademoak Lake before 1836. Significantly, this house has passed down through the family and currently is used as a summer home.

Heritage Value

The Nehemiah Belyea House is designated a Local Historic Place for it architecture and for its representation of residential traditions of Loyalist settlers to the area.

This house was built circa 1836, because historical evidence suggests that John McDonald Belyea, son of the Loyalist settler, was born “in the new house” that year. This is a similar story to dozens of other local Loyalist settlers who had small log cabins as their “starter homes”.

This white-shingled saltbox house was built facing down the lake with a traditional central chimney and a 4-pane transom over the central door. The cellar has three-foot thick walls made of local fieldstone. The original position of the six over six windows has been maintained and quite a lot of the window glass is original. The kitchen ell was added at a somewhat later date possibly circa 1860.

The interior plain woodwork reflects a modest country style with “Christian” doors throughout and remnants of chair rails in some rooms. There is internal evidence of structural changes with rooms added or enlarged, probably to accommodate a growing family. Also the entrance to the cellar appears to have been changed more than once for originally the kitchen was in the basement which was plastered and had a laid fieldstone floor. The house has a plain functional staircase to the upper floor. Also, there is evidence of fireplaces at either end of the building, somewhat of an anomaly considering that originally there was a central chimney too. Altogether this house exhibits an early to mid 19th century interior that was modified early on as circumstances changed.

Source: Queens County Heritage Archives – Cambridge-Narrows Historic Places files

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the Nehemiah Belyea House include:

Exterior
- rectangular one-and-a-half storey Cape Cod massing;
- typical early 19th century construction details;
- cedar shingled exterior;
- original centre door with 4-pane transom;
- original central chimney;
- later additions reflecting changing family needs;
- rugged, well-built fieldstone foundation;
- original six-over-six window placement.

Interior
- evidence of kitchen in basement;
- evidence of several fireplaces;
- functional staircase with evidence of second, rear staircase;
- small rooms upstairs indicative of original layout;
- wide pine floor boards;
- “Christian” doors on main floor;
- less ornate woodwork upstairs;
- upstairs never totally finished;
- pegged joists labeled with Roman numerals and rafters still evident.

Grounds
- proximity to the shore with excellent sigh lines up and down the lake;
- trees and field;
- isolated rural context away from other dwellings.