Description of Historic Place

The Jesse Wright House, also known as Riverside, is a large, well-maintained, modified four square style home located in North Bedeque, Prince Edward Island.

Heritage Value

The Jesse Wright House, or Riverside, is valued as a well maintained four square style house, for its historical associations with the United Empire Loyalist history of its community, and for its connection with the history of tourism in the province.

Riverside was built in 1911 by farmer and beekeeper Jesse Wright (1843-1927) and his wife Margaret Leard (1850-1934) as a tourism venture to augment their farm income. The house was built on the 100 acres of land United Empire Loyalist William Wright settled in 1784. Jesse Wright was the fourth generation of Wrights, and the last of the family line, on this Loyalist land holding in Bedeque, the largest UEL settlement in Prince Edward Island. The property is ideally located in a rural setting, on the banks of the Dunk River. Visitors and summer boarders from New York and Montreal came to enjoy the countryside and fishing on the Dunk River, well known for its angling. The 20th century tourism industry, with its message of promoting the enjoyment of the province's tranquil landscapes and fine agricultural lands, would grow in importance to join fishing and farming as a major industry on Prince Edward Island.

The home retains many of its original architectural features. The verandah steps of the home changed in 1950, and in the same year the kitchen window was replaced with a smaller window. The balusters on the second floor verandah were replaced with a different style in 1970. In 2005 the inserts for all the windows but the two in the attic were replaced.

The Jesse Wright House remains an important historic asset to the community of North Bedeque.

Source: Heritage Division, Department of Tourism and Culture, Charlottetown, PE
File #: 4310-20/W12

Character-Defining Elements

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

- the massing of the two-storey, end facing, rectangular house
- the simple gabled roof with a large brick chimney off-centre on spine of roof
- the wood clapboard siding
- the wide eaves
- the string course through the body of house above the first storey windows
- the string course at the top of the second storey wall which above the second storey windows in place of hood covers
- the two-storey verandah with shed roof facing south to the Dunk River
- the plain balusters and squared verandah posts on the first storey
- the turned veranda posts on the second storey
- the gable end with cantilevered, pediment-like effect above the eave with asphalt shingles at the base of the gable end
- the drip moulding at the basement line

Other contributing heritage character-defining elements:

- the location of the house near the Dunk River