Description of Historic Place

The Alberton Courthouse resides on the corner of Church and Howlan Streets facing Church street. The courthouse is a one and one half storey gabled structure which consists of a main floor and a gaol in the basement. It was one of six circuit courthouses constructed across the Province.

Heritage Value

The Alberton Courthouse's heritage value resides in its association with the judicial history of the Province. Built in 1878 by James Wiggins & Sons, it was one of six circuit courthouses constructed following the passage of the County Courts Act in 1873.

The building is architecturally significant because it is one of two circuit courthouses that contained a gaol/jail and two large front windows. The Town of Souris, in the eastern part of the Province was the only other place which had a courthouse similar in design to Alberton. This has not survived.

Source: PEI Heritage Advisory Board files

Character-Defining Elements

The following elements should be preserved:

- The height of one and one half storeys and gabled roof
- The brick foundation
- The series of single arched windows with original glass on all elevations
- The projecting, one storey, flat roofed vestibule with detailing typical of the period, displaying eave returns and elaborate cornice.
- The round window in the upper gable, trimmed in the centre piece fashion.
- The basement windows indicative of the former prisoner cells with barred windows with single, hinged exterior shutters.
- The original siding made of Eastern cedar.
- The gray asphalt shingles on the roof.