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Jonah Residence

977 Main Street, Sussex, New Brunswick, E4E, Canada

Formally Recognized: 2008/08/25

View from the east; Town of Sussex
Jonah Residence
Brackets under eave of gable; Town of Sussex
Jonah Residence
View from the west; Town of Sussex
Jonah Residence

Other Name(s)

Jonah Residence
Jonah Place Bed & Breakfast Inn
Jonah Place Bed & Breakfast Inn

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

1884/01/01

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2008/10/17

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

The Jonah Residence is a two-and-a-half storey Italianate-inspired Classic Revival residence with a veranda on the front façade, an attached barn to the rear of house, as well as a separate barn.

Heritage Value

The Jonah Residence is designated a Local Historic Place for its associations with the Jonah Family and the Sussex Mural Project, as well as for its architecture.

The Jonah Residence is recognized for its association with the family of Wilfred Burwell Jonah. The residence was built in 1884 for Charles W. Stockton, a descendant of Loyalists, who in 1910 sold it to the Jonah family. The Jonahs owned the house from 1910 to 1962. Wilfred Burwell Jonah, who was born in 1859, lived in Sussex from 1905 where he practiced law. In 1911 he was appointed a county judge for Albert-Kings, serving until his death in 1932. His son, Harry Nelson Jonah who was born in 1897, was a lawyer in practice with Senator Alfred Brook in Sussex, a Sussex town councillor from 1936 1937, town clerk for Sussex from 1938 until 1957, and a member of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1956 until 1962 when he was appointed a county judge. He died in 1985.

The Jonah Residence is recognized for its association with the Sussex Mural Project. From 2002 until 2008, the Jonah Residence was owned by Robert Gulman who operated a bed and breakfast on the premises. He conceived the Sussex Mural Project as a method to raise awareness of Sussex and to bring tourists to the town.

The Jonah Residence is also recognized for its architecture being a good example of Classic Revival residential architecture with Italianate influences from the late Victorian period. The classical forms of the Classic Revival style are enhanced by such Italianate details as the heavy paired brackets under the eaves and the wide, full-width veranda.

Source: Town of Sussex, Historic Places File #S-1-08

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements that describe the Jonah Residence include:
- rectangular two-and-a-half storey massing with one-and-a-half storey attached rectangular barn;
- wooden construction with clapboard siding;
- end gable entrance;
- wide, full-width veranda on front façade;
- paired brackets under eaves;
- bracketed entablatures over rectangular windows;
- two bay windows on right-hand side;
- bay window on rear;
- gable dormers;
- period in-situ barn.

The character-defining elements relating to the interior of the residence include:
- original tin wainscoting, newel post and banister in the front hall;
- twin parlours with original “log cabin” hardwood floors;
- marble fireplaces in parlours;
- decorative crown mouldings in parlours;
- built-in bench in parlour.

Recognition

Jurisdiction

New Brunswick

Recognition Authority

Local Governments (NB)

Recognition Statute

Local Historic Places Program

Recognition Type

Municipal Register of Local Historic Places

Recognition Date

2008/08/25

Historical Information

Significant Date(s)

n/a

Theme - Category and Type

Expressing Intellectual and Cultural Life
Architecture and Design
Governing Canada
Government and Institutions
Governing Canada
Security and Law
Peopling the Land
Settlement

Function - Category and Type

Current

Commerce / Commercial Services
Hotel, Motel or Inn

Historic

Residence
Single Dwelling

Architect / Designer

n/a

Builder

n/a

Additional Information

Location of Supporting Documentation

Town of Sussex, Historic Places File # S-1-08

Cross-Reference to Collection

Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier

1602

Status

Published

Related Places

n/a

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