Description of Historic Place

The Elsie Hume House is located on Highway No. 3 in Black Point, Nova Scotia. This wood frame, modified Gothic style house was built in 1852 on the south side of the road adjacent to "The Puddle", an inlet of St. Margaret's Bay, on the South Shore. The house and property are included in the provincial designation.

Heritage Value

The Elsie Hume House is valued because it is one of the earliest modified Gothic style houses built in the St. Margaret's Bay area and is an excellent and attractive example of this style.

The Elsie Hume House was built in 1852 by local farmer, Samuel Boutilier. The property was sold to Samuel by his brother, James. Samuel left the house and property to his wife, Rachel, and his son, Tristan. Upon Tristan's death, the house was given solely to his mother, Rachel, who subsequently sold it to Josiah Hume in 1892.

Josiah Hume was a local carpenter and remembered as one of the most colourful characters in the St. Margaret's Bay area. Hume was known for his tremendous physical strength and three marriages. Hume's daughter, Elsie, obtained ownership of the property through peculiar circumstances. Amos Snair was owed $1.00, assumed to be back wages, by Josiah Hume. Josiah could not or would not pay this, as well as the associated court costs of $339.55. The house was put on the market as a Sheriff's sale. Elsie out-bid all bidders and obtained the home in 1913 for $500.00, where her father lived for the remainder of his life. Elsie, who made and sold candy, lived in the house until her death in 1972.

The Elsie Hume House is a two-and-a-half storey wood frame, modified Gothic structure, with wood siding. The house has a steeply pitched gable roof with a gable dormer on the west elevation and a box dormer on the rear of the ell. The rear kitchen addition was added in the 1970s.

The Elsie Hume House is one of the oldest houses in the Black Point Community and an excellent example of the modified Gothic style. The house sits on The Puddle, an inlet of St. Margaret's Bay.

Source: Provincial Heritage Program property file, no. 75, 1747 Summer Street, Halifax, NS.

Character-Defining Elements

Character-defining elements of the Elsie Hume House relating to its modified Gothic style include:

- two-and-a-half storey wood frame structure;
- wood siding;
- sharply pitched gable roof;
- gable dormer on the west elevation and a box dormer on the rear of the ell;
- restrained gingerbread trim;
- non-return eaves;
- peak diamond-paned windows;
- six-over-six windows with window hoods.