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New Jerusalem Farm at McNutt's Island

McNutt's Island Road, McNutts Island, Nova Scotia, B0W, Canada

Formally Recognized: 2009/11/05

Window detail, New Jerusalem Farm on McNutt's Island, Nova Scotia; Heritage Division, NS Dept. of Tourism, Culture and Heritage, 2009
Window detail
Front elevation, New Jerusalem Farm on McNutt's Island, Nova Scotia; Heritage Division, NS Dept. of Tourism, Culture and Heritage, 2009
Front elevation
Rear elevation showing shoreline, New Jerusalem Farm on McNutt's Island, Nova Scotia; Heritage Division, NS Dept. of Tourism, Culture and Heritage, 2009
Rear elevation showing shoreline

Other Name(s)

New Jerusalem Farm at McNutt's Island
The Old Perry Place
The Hyde Place

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2009/12/18

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

New Jerusalem Farm on McNutt's Island, Nova Scotia is located just offshore in Shelburne County, Nova Scotia, approximately thirty minutes by boat from Shelburne. The boat launch and wharf offer a unique viewing point of the property, which consists of a one-and-a-half storey wood-frame home on a point of land. The building is surrounded by evidence of farming and livestock activity from previous generations, including the remains of an apple orchard, fieldstone walls and open fields. The building and the surrounding property defined as being on “Lot 3” are included in the provincial designation.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of the New Jerusalem Farm on McNutt's Island lies in its unique setting, architecture and association with Nova Scotian history.

The island on which the farm is located was named for Alexander McNutt (1725-1811) who was a British army officer, colonist and land agent, responsible for overseeing approximately 500 Ulster Scottish immigrants arrive in the province in the early 1760s. During this decade, he lived with his brother on McNutt’s Island. The farm later passed into the hands of Moses Pitcher, a member of the Port Roseway Association of United Empire Loyalists, and then on to three more families, most notably the Perry family who built the current house and owned the property from approximately 1857 to 1911.

The New Jerusalem Farm is the oldest and only year-round residence on the island. The house is surrounded by cleared lands, which were once used for grazing sheep and as gardens. Stone walls still demarcate the fields. Between the house and the shoreline are the remains of a small apple orchard originally cultivated by William Perry in the 1860s. Planted by the house is the only oak tree on the island. There are also a number of old growth yellow birch trees on the island.

The house itself was built in a Nova Scotia Vernacular style circa 1857 by the Perry family and has had only minor alterations since then. The one-and-a-half storey wood-frame home is comprised of four elements. The main one-and-a-half storey section contains the main floor great room, staircase to a second floor bedroom and four-bay façade including the main entrance. The second section of the home contains a kitchen with a stone root cellar accessible from the exterior. To the rear of the kitchen ell is a common entranceway corridor. Finally, the last section of the house was built in the 1920s and contains the first indoor washroom on the island and a guestroom.

The majority of the windows are original six-over-six and six-over-three, with moulded hoods and wide trim. Decorative features of the house include wooden return eaves, moulded cornice, and wide fascia and cornerboards.

Source: Provincial Heritage Program property files, no. 278, Nova Scotia

Character-Defining Elements

Character-defining elements of New Jerusalem Farm on McNutt's Island include:
- its original location and setting;
- one-and-one-half storey, wood-frame construction with shingle and clapboard siding;
- wood-frame six-over-six and six-over-three sash windows;
- wooden eaves return eaves, moulded cornice, wide fascia and cornerboards;
- stone foundation under the kitchen section of the building;
- oak tree planted near the main entrance; and
- landscape remnants relating to the former agricultural use of the property, including the remaining trees of an apple orchard and fieldstone walls.

Recognition

Jurisdiction

Nova Scotia

Recognition Authority

Province of Nova Scotia

Recognition Statute

Heritage Property Act

Recognition Type

Provincially Registered Property

Recognition Date

2009/11/05

Historical Information

Significant Date(s)

n/a

Theme - Category and Type

Peopling the Land
Settlement

Function - Category and Type

Current

Residence
Single Dwelling

Historic

Architect / Designer

n/a

Builder

n/a

Additional Information

Location of Supporting Documentation

Provincial Heritage Program property files, no. 278, 1747 Summer Street, Halifax, NS

Cross-Reference to Collection

Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier

00PNS0278

Status

Published

Related Places

n/a

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