Description of Historic Place

This house is a variation on the Island Ell architectural style. It features the usual gable and ell extension with the addition of a second storey to the once open verandah which is now enclosed and covered by a shed roof. The north elevation features a pair of stacked square bay windows.

Heritage Value

The home is valued for its unique variation of the Island Ell style and for its historical association with the family of Daniel Cameron.

Daniel G. Cameron was born in Lower Montague in 1845. His parents, John and Jean (McClure) Cameron had emigrated from Scotland in 1821 aboard the ship "Peggy". John was a farmer and mill owner, who died tragically in a mill accident in 1861. Daniel left his father's farm to follow a mercantile career.

In 1876, he opened a mercantile business in Commercial Cross, remaining there until 1889, when he moved to Montague. He later expanded his business to Murray Harbour. He built the current house around 1900 and lived there with his wife, Amelia and their children, Ella and Arthur. The 1901 Census indicates they also had a "domestic" or servant and also a boarder.

Arthur Garfield Cameron attended Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario and in 1906 was selected as a Rhodes' Scholar. He was only the third student from Queen's to attend Oxford as part of that program since Queen's began sending students in 1905.

In 1907, Daniel Cameron sold the house to Alexander Bruce, who soon after sold it to Luther Coffin in 1908. The Coffins resided here for over sixty years, eventually selling it to Gilbert Gaudet, the Customs Officer for Montague. His widow, Sadie, sold it to the current owners in 1975.

Today, although clad in vinyl siding, the house retains its style which is a variation of the Gable Ell.

Source: Culture and Heritage Division, PEI Department of Communities, Cultural Affairs and Labour, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8
File #: 4310-20/TR21

Character-Defining Elements

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

- the one-and-one-half storey massing and gable-ell style
- the gable rooflines
- the brick chimneys
- the enclosed verandah with second storey added with shed roof
- the pair of stacked square bay windows
- the oriel style single window on the east elevation
- the round arch window in the peak of the east gable