Description of Historic Place

Ben Harshman House, built around 1870, is located on Vienneau Road, in Tidiche, within the Village of Cap-Pelé. This one-and-a-half storey, rectangular wood-frame house with a cross-gable roof is of the vernacular Picturesque style. It incorporates a smaller, pre-existing house from the 1830's. The designation also includes the barn located on the property.

Heritage Value

The Ben Harshman House is designated a Local Historic Place for its association with Ben Harshman as well as for its architecture.

The Ben Harshman House is recognized for its association with its builder and original occupant, Ben Harshman. The house was built by brothers Ben and George Harshman around 1870. The Harshmans were important in the community for their accomplishments in the forest industry and the lumber trade. In 1857, a sawmill known as the "moulin de Tidiche", along with a flour mill, was sold to Ben and George Harshman of Shediac, who subsequently moved to Tidiche. The brothers modernized the facilities, turning them into a true industrial complex that generated a real economic boom, not only for Tidiche, but also for the surrounding area. Although the mills were abandoned in 1911 following the destruction of the roadway, a millstone from one of the Harshman mills is displayed on the Ben Harshman House property.

The Ben Harshman House is also recognized for the architecture of the house and the barn. The residence is a good example of the vernacular Picturesque style which was popular in Acadian villages at the time. A small house on the west side of this residence, dating from 1830, was incorporated into the current building at the time of construction. The frame is of hand-hewn beams. One of the barns built around 1890 by the Harshmans still exists today. This barn is a lasting example of late 19th-century outbuilding architecture.

Source : Village of Cap-Pelé Municipal Building, Historic Places file # 11.

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements that describe the architecture of Ben Harshman House include:
- location adjacent to the site of the former mill complex within the Tidiche region of Cap-Pelé;
- simple rectangular 1 ½-storey massing;
- cross-gable roof;
- cut stone cellar;
- hand-hewn beam construction.

The character-defining elements that describe the barn located on the Ben Harshman House property include:
- rectangular plan;
- gable roof;
- rectangular window and door placement;
- clapboard siding.

The caracter-defining elements related to the Harshman brothers' mills include:
- millstone on the house grounds.