Description of Historic Place

The George Pearce Root Cellar, also referred to as Rex Chaulk’s Cellar, is located off Circular Road in the Maberly area of the municipality of Elliston. The front exterior has a wooden door and visible rock construction and otherwise it is covered in sod and natural grasses. The municipal heritage designation is confined to the footprint of the structure.

Heritage Value

The George Pearce Root Cellar has historic, architectural, aesthetic and cultural values.

The George Pearce Root Cellar was built in 1859 by Mr. Pearce and has historic value given its age and because it survives from a time before modern day refrigeration, when such structures were very important for storing and preserving foodstuffs.

The George Pearce Root Cellar has architectural value as a good example of utilitarian design and functionality. Root cellars such as this were common in rural locations to store vegetables and other food items. They were constructed to maintain a suitable level of humidity and temperature to ensure preservation of the stored food. The Pearce Cellar is the type that is built up from the ground, and its piled rock wall construction is visible at the front/entrance side. The other sections are mainly covered in well grown in sod. The wooden door is of a typical type, constructed of vertical boards.

The George Pearce Root Cellar has aesthetic value in the rural cultural landscape of Elliston. It is one structure in a larger, community-wide collection of root cellars that makes the Elliston’s landscape remarkable.

Still in use, the George Pearce Root Cellar also has cultural value in Elliston. Roots cellars have a connection to a subsistence economy where people farmed, fished, hunted and gathered much of their family’s own food. Once commonplace, these cellars have become symbols of the history of subsistence in rural Newfoundland and specifically of the Town of Elliston, which declared itself Root Cellar Capital of the World in 2000.

Source: Town of Elliston Town Council Meeting Minutes of 2007/04/10

Character-Defining Elements

All those exterior elements related to the age, design and aesthetic value of the cellar:

-exposed stone on front;
-type, material, size and placement of door;
-dimensions;
-ground up type construction;
-and the general rugged appearance, with sods.