Description of Historic Place

The Clow House is a large two and a half storey Second Empire house located on Mink River Road in Murray Harbour North, Prince Edward Island.

Heritage Value

The Clow House is valued as a fine example of its architectural style, its importance to the community and historical associations with the Clow family.

This house was built approximately 1865 by James Clow (1837-1901) a prosperous shipbuilder, lobster packer, merchant and politician. He built a plain vernacular house, which in later years would be embellished by his son, Benjamin Clow. James Clow and his wife, Lucy (Graham) Clow (1832-1905) ran a general store nearby the house, which was later passed to their son, Benjamin. In the 1890 election, James Clow was elected to the House of Assembly and was elected to the Legislative Council, serving from 1882-1890. Benjamin Clow worked as a carpenter and farmer until 1881, when he moved to Boston, Massachusetts to become a ship joiner. In 1884, Benjamin Clow returned to Prince Edward Island, where he took over his father's business in 1890. In 1909, Benjamin Clow had the plain 1865 house embellished with fine Victorian details. Alexander Finlay of Sturgeon and his son, Russell were hired. The Finlays added two corner bays with conical roofs, an interconnecting balcony with balustrade, gingerbread decoration and a central mansard-roofed turret. They also added a flat roofed wing which received no Victorian embellishments. In 1928, Benjamin's business went bankrupt but his two sons operated a store from the building adjacent to the house and continued to live in this house. The Clow's property in Murray Harbour North included the house, store and a wharf.

The Clow House continues to be an important visual landmark in its community.

Source : Culture and Heritage Division, Department of Tourism and Culture, Charlottetown, PE
File # : 4310-20/C12

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the Clow House is shown in the following character-defining elements:

- the two and a half storey massing of the house
- the original location on the north shore of Murray Harbour
- the gabled roof house with centered door
- the two corner bay window towers with three large windows and conical roofs
- the interconnecting balcony with balustrade
- the wood shingle siding with various shingle patterns
- the gingerbread decoration
- the central mansard-roofed turret
- the flat roofed two storey wing
- the two-over-one paned windows
- the drip molding at basement line
- the eave bracketing
- the placement and size of the windows
- the large shelf hood covers over the windows with bracketing