Description of Historic Place

The Corkum-Bezanson Home is a small modified Cape Cod style house built circa 1820 that sits just off the Middle River Road in Chester Basin, Nova Scotia. The Municipal Heritage Designation applies to the building and surrounding property and does not include the barn.

Heritage Value

The Corkum-Bezanson Home is valued for its age, historical associations and architecture. This one-and-one-half storey gable roof Cape Cod style house has been altered little since it was constructed circa 1820 by Nathan Levy, who was also its first owner. The relatively unaltered state of the home makes the Corkum-Bezanson Home a good example of a residence that was both designed and constructed by local craftsmen, who were not professional builders.

In 1880 the home became the property of its fourth owner, Nathanel Bezanson, and it has been lived in by three successive generations of the Bezanson family; this long association is reflected in the home's designation. However, the during this period the home was unoccupied for a brief period. It was moved approximately twelve metres and a new home was constructed on the original foundation of the Corkum-Bezanson Home.

The home conforms largely to the Cape Cod style of architecture. It has a central chimney located at the peak of the gable roof and is clad in wooden shingles with a simple wooden corner boards. The eaves of the roof are traced by a plain wide frieze which meets the planchard board directly forming a square absent of decorative moldings. The front edge of the planchard board is covered by a narrow plain bargeboard that meets the eaves forming the closed cornices. The home has a central main entrance located on the ridgeline facing the Middle River Road and the chimney is located at the peak of the roof in the center of the home.

The ridgeline of the home faces the Middle River Road and the front façade features a central main entrance; however, the façade is asymmetrical and this trait is uncommon in Cape Cod style homes. The central main entrance is flanked on the southern side by paired windows with storm shutters. By contrast, the northern side boasts only a single window complete with storm shutters.

The house sits in the shadow of a barn that stands approximately three storeys and has a full basement. The sheer size of this building in comparison to the home pays homage to the agricultural roots of the property, which at one time was almost completely developed for agricultural usage making it an important contributing element to the property.

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

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the Corkum-Bezanson Home that relate to its Cape Cod style architecture include:

- one-and-one-half storey construction;
- steeply pitched roof;
- gable roof with ridgeline toward Middle River Road;
- central main entrance located on ridgeline elevation;
- windows on front façade with storm shutters;
- plain wide frieze which meets planchard board directly forming a square absent of decorative moldings;
- closed cornice formed by a narrow bargeboard facing on edge of planchard board;
- plain corner boards;
- wooden shingle construction.

The character-defining elements of the property that relate to the barn include:

- three-storey design with a full basement;
- original timber framing including 'shipis knees;'
- gable roof.