Description of Historic Place

The Jonathan Locke House is a one-and-one-half storey wood frame building constructed in 1846 in the Gothic Revival style. It is located on North Street in the Town of Lockeport, N.S. Municipal heritage designation applies to the house and the residential corner lot it occupies.

Heritage Value

The Jonathan Locke House is valued for its historic association with Jonathan Locke and his family, the first owners, and with Rupert G. Sutherland, a later owner. It is also valued for its Gothic Revival architecture.

Jonathan Locke, the original owner of this house, was a great-grandson of Josiah Locke, one of the first settlers in this community around 1761. Jonathan had this house built in 1846, several years before his marriage in 1855, and his four daughters were all born here between 1856 and 1862. Jonathan Locke and his brother, Enos, were in business together dealing in fish, and they were also involved in the West Indies trade for a number of years. After Jonathan Locke’s death in 1908 his widow, Bethia, remained here until her death in 1913. From then until May of 1929 the house was occupied by Jonathan’s and Bethia’s eldest daughter, Ida Evelyn Locke, who never married.

In 1929 Ida Evelyn Locke, then seventy-three years old, sold the property to Rupert G. Sutherland. Mr. Sutherland was a local merchant who owned Sutherland’s General Store in the community. His occupation of this property continued for sixty-five years, until 1994.

The Gothic Revival architecture of the Jonathan Locke house is primarily evident in its front cross gables and symmetrical three-bay façade. This is a one-and-one-half storey building with a lower, off-centre back ell, a medium pitched gable roof that has symmetrically placed inset chimneys and three front cross gables. The two smaller gables crown projecting bay windows that frame a shallow porch and the centred entrance, which has sidelights and transom lights. The centred front gable has decorative gingerbread trim in the verges. The original windows and doors have been replaced with modern units, though the original framing and simple window crowns have been retained.

Source: Municipal Heritage Property files, “Jonathan Locke House”, Town of Lockeport municipal office.

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the Jonathan Locke House include:
- location in a residential area on a generous sized corner lot;
- proximity to two other registered heritage properties;
- narrow setback from street.

The character-defining elements of the Gothic Revival architecture of the Jonathan Locke House include:
- one-and-one-half storey wood frame construction with wood cladding and trim;
- medium pitched gable roof with a centred front cross gable flanked by projecting cross gables;
- symmetrical three-bay façade with centred entrance and a projecting two-storey bay window to each side;
- lower one-and-one-half storey, off-centre back ell.