Description of Historic Place

The Hacker House is a composite or double house, comprised of a circa 1850 centre dormer house and a large, Queen Anne style 1886 addition, located on Blue Shank Road in Wilmot Valley, Prince Edward Island.

Heritage Value

The Hacker House is valued for its rare composition, its architectural style and design, its associations with the early Loyalist history of the area and with architect William C. Harris.

The one and a half-storey vernacular house was constructed circa 1850 possibly by, or for, Loyalist James Waugh. By 1858, blacksmith Edward Henry (1814-1892) and his wife Grace Hacker moved to Wilmot Valley and settled at this property. In 1861, Grace (Hacker) Henry and her husband passed the house on to her brother, William Hacker. Hacker came to PEI in 1831 with his parents Thomas and Isabella Hacker of Devonshire, England. He farmed and raised his family here with his wife, Jane Hacker. Their son, William S. Hacker joined in the farming operation and in 1886, an addition was built onto the house. Due to the success of the 200 acre farm, and growing family, a larger house was needed. The addition was designed by prominent PEI architect, William Critchlow Harris (1854-1913). Harris added a High Victorian, Queen Anne style addition onto the west elevation of the plain vernacular house to make an elegant composite, or double house. The Queen Anne style addition was typically an urban design, which makes this composite house a standout in Island architecture. William S. Hacker continued to own the house with his wife Ella and their three children until his death in 1903. In 1903, Frederick and Bertha Simmons purchased the Hacker farm where they raised a large family, farmed and experimented with silver black fox ranching. Frederick Simmons' son, Roy carried on the farm and rented the addition as apartments. Roy Simmons continued to farm with his son, Elmer Simmons until 1978. More recently, the composite house has been operated as the Blue Shank Inn, offering elegant Victorian rooms for accommodations and dining.

The Hacker House continues to be an important visual and cultural landmark in its community.

Source : Heritage Division, Department of Tourism & Culture, Charlottetown, PE
File #: 4310-20/H24

Character-Defining Elements

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

-the overall massing of the composite house
-the setting of the house on its original site

-ca 1850 East House
-the symmetric three-bay structure
-the simple gabled roof with a central projection on the south elevation
-the centered door
-the two roof dormers with simple peaked roofs
-the cornerboards
-the size and placement of the windows

-ca 1886 West House
-the hipped roof with projections
-the three sided roofs over bay windows
-the two storey stacking bay windows
-the various types of wood cladding : clapboard, patterned shingles, board and batten
-the two roof dormers with peaked roofs
-the two storey open verandah
-the decorative moulding on the upper area verandah posts
-the upper verandahs rounded openings between posts
-the lower verandahs squared openings between posts
-the drip moulding at cellar line
-the roof cresting detail