Description of Historic Place

Built circa 1891, the Calvin Eisnor Home is a Gothic Revival style home located at the end of Calvin Eisnor Road, also known as Circle Pond Road, resting on a knoll over looking Chester Basin, NS. The Municipal Heritage Designation applies to the residence and property; however, the property also inlcudes a large barn and boat slip that contribute to its value.

Heritage Value

The Calvin Eisnor Home is valued for its age, historical associations and architecture.

Historic Value:

The Calvin Eisnor Home was constructed circa 1891 after the original Eisnor homestead was destroyed by fire. The house was built for Captain Calvin and Nora Eisnor. Eisnor operated a small coastal schooner, transporting goods, including locally made barrels, from Chester to Halifax. A small slip was located on the shore of the property, used by Eisnor for his small schooner. Eisnor also operated a farm on the property. This type of diversification was common to coastal rural residents, and the Calvin Eisnor Home property is an excellent example of this trend. With the decline of shipping in the 1920s the Eisnor family focused solely on farming and the property continues to function as a working farm.

Architectural Value:

The home was built with a steep Gothic Revival cross-gable featuring the home's main entrance, which is oriented toward the Chester Basin. Below the house, at the bottom of a gently sloping hill, at the shore line are the remains of a small slip and several wharf pilings. The property also includes a two-storey barn and several outbuildings for keeping fowl. The Gothic Revival symmetry of the entire home is nearly perfectly intact. All of the windows feature matching decorative hoods, with the exception of the Gothic Revival inspired modified lancet arch window located in the peak of the cross-gable. The window is topped by a triangular window hood, while the window itself is formed by two equilateral triangle panes flanking a central diamond pane. The triangular window form features a unique stained glass floral design that flows across all three panes. This type of heavy ornamentation is absent from the rest of the home, although its wooden shingle construction includes plain corner boards and frieze running under the eaves topped with a simple cornice. In addition, the home features styled double rake bargeboards, forming the face of the closed cornices.

The home has been remarkably well preserved, although it has had several renovations including the construction of a small addition on the rear elevation. It is believed part of the rear elevation of the home survived the fire because during the construction of a small addition in the 1990s hand hewn beams that had been blackened by fire were discovered in the exterior walls. By contrast, the beams on the interior walls have milling marks from a saw mill and show no evidence of being scarred by fire.

Source: Municipality of the District of Chester Heritage Property Files.

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the Calvin Eisnor Home that relate to its Gothic Revival architecture include:

- steep cross-gable design;
- steep pitch of roof;
- plain corner boards and frieze running under eaves topped by a simple cornice;
- styled double rake bargeboards;
- original main entrance on cross-gable elevation;
- Gothic Revival inspired modified lancet arch window located in peak of cross-gable formed by two equilateral triangular panes flanking a central diamond pane;
- stained glass floral design across three panes that form modified lancet arch window;
- triangular window hood over modified lancet arch window;
- symmetrical front elevation with a three bay façade featuring main entrance flanked by single two-over-two windows;
- symmetrical north elevation featuring double two-over-two windows at first storey and single two-over-two windows at second storey on each side of exterior chimney;
- south elevation with symmetrically placed two-over-two windows at second storey, with a single one-over-one window in peak of gable;
- south-east elevation has a small cross-gabled addition, covering cellarway and is flanked on left by a single two-over-two window and on right by a double two-over-two window;
- small one storey cross-gable addition on rear elevation with symmetrical lean additions on each side.

The other-character defining elements of the Calvin Eisner Home that relate to its historical associations include:

- slip and old wharf pilings located by shore in front of home;
- front elevation facing ocean;
- two-storey barn.