Description of Historic Place

The former Bulman / Houston / Gallant House is a small, half scale 1 ½ storey centre gable house prominently located overlooking the bridge at Rusticoville and the Hunter River leading into Rustico Bay, with a distant view of the Northumberland Strait. The house is clad in wood shingles and retains some original two over two wood windows. Some windows have been enlarged to take advantage of the stunning views.

Heritage Value

The former Bulman / Houston / Gallant House is valued as a rare example of a half scale 1 ½ storey centre gable house in a rural setting and for its historical associations.

The house dates from about 1870 and was owned by John Bulman (1846-1887), a grandson of settler John B. Bulman (1797-1887) of Norfolk, England and his wife Mary Jane Roper who established a farm on the south side of Rustico Bay. The younger Bulman was a blacksmith and owned a forge, once located south of the Rusticoville Bridge and other property in the area. This house may have been occupied by the Bulman family or rented out to a storekeeper or blacksmith in Bulman's employ. Farmer John S. Houston of Mayfield later rented the house and it was eventually owned by Millie Houston. Millie died in 1941 leaving a 50-acre property and two houses to Joseph (Joe LaBrique) Gallant. Joe LaBrique Gallant and his wife Nazarene and their family of 7 children lived here from 1925, leasing the house from Millie Houston. The bachelor Gallant sons of Joe and Nazarene continued residing here until the 1990s.

The property was rented for several years until 2003 when a former owner purchased it and returned the house to much of its original historic appearance, removing most of the 1970s exterior modernization.

This house continues to be valued as important component in the Rusticoville landscape and for its connections to the early history of its community, its early settlers and as an example of fine craftsmanship in rural Prince Edward Island.

Source: Heritage Places files, Dept of Fisheries, Tourism, Sport & Culture, Charlottetown, PE
File #: 4310-20/B12

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the former Bulman / Houston / Gallant House in Rusticoville is shown in the following character-defining elements:

- the scale and massing of the house
- the wood shingle cladding
- the pitch and slope of the roofline
- the centre gable
- the size and placement of the multi-paned wood windows
- the wood doors
- the one storey projection on the rear elevation

Further contributing heritage character-defining elements:

- its location on a hillside overlooking the bridge at Rusticoville and the Hunter River and Rustico Bay