Description of Historic Place

The stately two-and-one-half story Queen Anne influenced residence on the corner of Granville and Belmont Streets has been a familiar sight to several generations of Summerside citizens. It was built in 1877 by Theophilus J. Clark who was an early owner of the sawmill and lumber supply business that eventually became M.F. Schurman Company Ltd. Its features include stacked bays topped with a pedimented dormer, alternating shingle patterns, a verandah, and beltcourses defining the various storeys. The registration includes the building and its lot.

Heritage Value

The house at 71 Granville Street is valued for its association with several prominent Summerside citizens, including Judge Neil MacLeod, a former Premier of Prince Edward Island; for its Queen Anne influenced architecture; and for its contribution to the streetscape of one of the town's busiest thoroughfares.

It was constructed in 1877 by the original owner Theophilus J. Clark (1877-1893). In 1881, he entered into a business venture with his purchase of the steam mill and lumberyard of John Calhoun at the corner of Euston and Water Streets. He experienced a substantial loss when the mill burned in 1885, but he rebuilt and in 1889 sold the business which would eventually become M.F. Schurman Company Limited.

Mr. Clark and his family moved to Carthage, Missouri in 1890 and put the house up for auction. The firm of Schurman, Clark and Company, represented by Theo's brother, John M. Clark, was the top bidder. The house was rented out to Dr. Jarvis in 1891 and then sold in 1893 to local entrepreneur Robert C. McLeod who paid $2200. He made a major change in its construction by having a pitched roof added, replacing the original flat roof. At some point in its history, a section of the house was also removed and moved to another lot in the City.

Always with an eye for profit, Mr. McLeod sold the residence for $3700 in 1895 to Neil McLeod, Charlottetown lawyer and politician, who had accepted an appointment as a Judge of the Prince County Court. The Hon. Mr. MacLeod, who had been born at Uigg, PEI, had served as Premier of Prince Edward Island from 1889 to 1891 and as Conservative Leader of the Opposition until March 1893. Mr. McLeod moved to Summerside with his wife and young family and remained in the house until his death in 1915.

The new owner of the house became Ella P. Hacker who moved in with her daughter Ruby, two sons having already left Summerside. Mrs. Hacker had been tragically widowed in 1903 when her husband William, a farmer in Wilmot, committed suicide three years after a bad fall compromised his health. By 1921, Ruby had moved to New York and Mrs. Hacker decided to sell the house.

Charles Waugh, a retired farmer from Wilmot, was the next resident. He and his wife Rebecca Burns from Freetown were strong adherents of the Baptist Church and were well respected in the town. Mr. Waugh died suddenly ten years after the couple purchased the house, the result of a collision between his horse and carriage and an automobile. Mrs. Waugh and her unmarried daughter, Vera, turned the house into apartments, with their own quarters on the south side of the first level. After Mrs. Waugh's death in 1961, her daughter kept the property until 1965 when it was sold to J. Lester Fitzgerald, a co-founder of the local construction firm Fitzgerald and Snow Ltd. He and his wife Helen removed partitions and converted the place to a single dwelling again. Mr. Fitzgerald died in 1981 and the house was sold the next year. Since that time, it has had several owners.

Source: City of Summerside, Heritage Property Profile

Character-Defining Elements

The following Queen Anne influenced character-defining elements illustrate the heritage value of the house:

- the two-and-one-half storeys with steeply pitched gable roof
- the brick chimney
- the asymmetrical placement of elements such as windows, doors and verandah
- the stacked bays which are an identifiable theme in Summerside architecture
- the various cladding styles with a beltcourse separating each, creating a banding effect that emphasizes the height of the building
- the bargeboard trim on the eaves
- the bracketting
- the pedimented gable over the stacked bays
- the verandah with squared posts and bracketting
- the prominent place of the house in the historic streetscape on the corner of Granville and Belmont streets