Description du lieu patrimonial

The Rogers House is a well-maintained large 1 ½ storey vernacular farmhouse with a kitchen ell. The house is wood-shingled, with a steeply pitched wood-shingled roof with a projecting centre dormer on its facade. Rogers House is located near the north bank of Scales Pond and is an integral part of the International Children's Memorial Place in the rural community of South Freetown, Prince Edward Island.

Valeur patrimoniale

The Rogers House at the International Children's Memorial Place at Scales Pond is located in South Freetown, Prince Edward Island. The Rogers House was constructed in 1870 in the vernacular ell style. A very well-maintained building with many original features, the home was built for David Rogers (1831-1908) and his family and named "Kentleth" after Rogers' home in Wales. Rogers purchased the Dunk River Mills from the Wright family who had established the mills around 1819. A jack of all trades, Rogers began his career as a blacksmith and later worked as a tinsmith prior to becoming a miller, employing 2 full time men. He also farmed the land with the property, acted as a Justice of the Peace, was a lay preacher for the Methodist Church and served as captain of the local reserve militia.

Located at what is now known as Scales Pond near the Dunk River, the area had long established saw, carding, grist and shingle mills and was known for generating electrical power. Following several owners, in 1919 the Dunk River Hydro Electrical Company was established at the site, which evolved into Scales Hydro Electric Co. Ltd. under the ownership of Austin Scales (1886-1989). By 1930, it was the largest hydro-electric plant in the province. Several men worked at the plant, and the Rogers House served as accommodations. In 1963 Maritime Electric purchased the property and closed the plant in 1965.

The 1968 purchase of the property by the province of Prince Edward Island led to a restoration project and creation of a museum site and provincial park which opened in 1973 and proved to be a popular recreation, fishing, boating and camping area.

The Rogers House now forms part of the International Children's Memorial Place which was incorporated in 1999. Operated by a volunteer Board "to promote and foster the health and well-being of individuals and or families who grieve for the physical or emotional loss of a child", the site is a calm and peaceful place of remembrance and solace. The 20+ acre site located outside of Kinkora includes Scales Pond, the Trail of Reflection, the Path of Bricks, the Ever-Living Forest, the Rogers House, the one-room South Freetown schoolhouse, a museum and dam.

The Rogers House continues to be valued as an example of a fine vernacular farm residence, for its outstanding integrity and condition, its historical associations with early milling at the dam at Scales Pond, as a popular recreation, fishing and boating site, its historical associations with electrical power generation, and more recently as component of the International Children's Memorial Place. Rogers House continues to be an important asset in the landscape of South Freetown.

Heritage Places Files, Dept. of Fisheries, Tourism, Sport & Culture, Charlottetown, PE
File #: 4310-20/R5

Éléments caractéristiques

The heritage value of the Rogers House is shown in the following character-defining elements:

- the scale and massing of the house
- the pitch and slope of the roofline
- the wood shingle cladding
- the wood shingled roof
- the size and symmetrical placement of the six over six sash windows on the first storey of the facade
- the size and placement of the six over six wood sash windows on the south elevation the house; and two over two wood sash attic window
- the kitchen ell at the rear elevation of the house, with centre gable and six over six wood sash windows and verandah
- the six over six sash wood windows on the first level of the facade
- the projecting entrance vestibule and dormer with sidelights flanking the main entrance door
- the double six over four wood sash windows in the dormer of the front elevation
- the grooved cornerboards

Further contributing heritage character-defining elements:

- its picturesque location in a pastoral park like rural landscape near Scales Pond
- its location near the International Children's Memorial gardens
- the proximity of the Scales Hydro Electric plant and South Freetown School buildings on the site
- the extant original interior architectural features