Description of Historic Place

The Hudson Homestead is a well preserved two storey house built in the 1860s and 1890s. Features of the home include its wood shingle cladding, wall dormers with round arch windows, and decorative hood moulding over many of the windows. It is located on treed grounds in the rural setting of Cascumpec. The registration includes the building's exterior; it does not include the building's interior.

Heritage Value

The Hudson Homestead is valued for its architectural details; for its long association with the Hudson family; and for its contribution to the community of Cascumpec.

The kitchen section of the house was built in 1867 for William B. Hudson (1818-1894) who had moved with his wife and five children from Tryon to Cascumpec. The property was built on 100 acres of Crown land which was cleared for farming. The main part of the house which has more decorative features including hood mouldings above windows and round arch wall dormer windows, was not added until 1895. This section was added by his son, James Carr Hudson.

William B. Hudson was active as a farmer and tailor in his community. Both he and his son are listed in the patron's directory in Meacham's 1880 Atlas of PEI. James' son, Brenton Hudson, would also farm the homestead. He was also the director of the Cascumpec and Fortune Cove Rural Telephone Company. The Hudson family was also one of the founding families of the Cascumpec Methodist (now United) Church. The patriarch of the family, Richard Hudson was born in Yorkshire, England in 1797 and emigrated to PEI in 1817. He was elected to the PEI Legislature in 1838 representing Tryon and also served as a Methodist preacher.

Remarkably, the Hudson Homestead has remained in the same family for over a century and remains a landmark in the community of Cascumpec.

Source: Culture and Heritage Division, PEI Department of Community and Cultural Affairs, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8
File #: 4310-20/H4

Character-Defining Elements

The following character-defining elements illustrate the heritage value of the Hudson Homestead:

- The massing of the building with its two storeys and wood frame construction
- The wood shingle cladding
- The simple wooden trim
- The less ornate older "ell" section of the house with brick chimney, gable roof, and wall dormer
- The main section of the house, built in the 1890s, with gable roof, central brick chimney, hood mouldings over windows, and round arch wall dormer windows
- The gable roofed pediment porch with two supporting posts

Other character-defining elements include:

- The location of the house in a rural setting and its physical and visual relationship to the countryside
- The continued use of the house as a dwelling