Other Name(s)
Whale Cove Cottages
Inn at Whale Cove Cottages
Auberge aux chalets Whale Cove
Links and documents
Construction Date(s)
1816/01/01
Listed on the Canadian Register:
2010/03/30
Statement of Significance
Description of Historic Place
Whale Cove Cottages are located overlooking Whale Cove Harbour in the community of North Head, Grand Manan. The entrance to the cottages is as mystical as the setting. Hidden on Whistle Road there is the side road called the Whale Cove Cottage Road marked by a sign decorated with many fisherman buoys. Down a tree lined drive you come to an open area overlooking the cove with the cottages nestled in the centre of a small clearing. The designation includes a main farmhouse and three cottages.
Heritage Value
Whale Cove Cottages on Grand Manan Island are designated a Local Historic Place for being a unique place that is open for the public to escape by stepping back into history in this gentle rustic setting. Each Cottage was originally used as a farm building. The main house was built in 1816. The other cottages were built in 1840. These cottages, originally a cooper settler’s farmstead, were rescued from deterioration in 1900-1902 by four industrious ladies from Boston. Miss Sarah Jacobus, Barbara Adams, Miss Marie Felix, and Miss Alice Coney purchased the property and worked at renovating the existing buildings into the Whale Cove Cottages. The original buildings were a barn, cooper shop, main house, and guest house. At first there were no plumbing of any sort, no electric lights, no radio and no telephone. These names have stayed with the buildings except for the guest house which became known as Orchardside Cottage due to the apple orchard in its front yard. Today, the main house has a public dining hall. The barn was replaced by a cottage built in 1920. It was to this location that the famous author Willa Cather would escape in her early years of spending summers on Grand Manan. She later had her own cottage a short distance from Whale Cove Cottages. Although Whale Cove Cottages have most modern conveniences, their interiors have not lost their simple appeal and their exteriors remain in cedar shingles.
Source: Grand Manan Archives - Local Historic Places file and Willa Cather file
Character-Defining Elements
The character-defining elements that describe the overall complex of Whale Cove Cottages include:
- sightlines to Whale Cove Harbour, where fishing boats and the occasional whale is visible;
- main farmhouse dating back to 1816;
- two farm buildings converted into cottages at the turn of the 20th century;
- small cottage built in 1920 located in front of the main house;
- all buildings sheathed in cedar shingles with painted doors;
- Georgian/Cape Cod architecture intact for all buildings.
The character-defining elements relating to the interior of the main house include:
- original elements of the large living room or sitting room including a large built-in fireplace and a window seat looking out over the front lawn and apple orchard;
- combined hand-hewn and modern beams;
- dining room located off the sitting room with the kitchen at the back of the building;
- wide floor boards;
- low ceiling;
- walls decorated with ‘Blue Willow’ china.
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
2010/01/11
Historical Information
Significant Date(s)
1900/01/01 to 1902/01/01
Theme - Category and Type
- Developing Economies
- Trade and Commerce
- Expressing Intellectual and Cultural Life
- Architecture and Design
- Peopling the Land
- People and the Environment
Function - Category and Type
Current
Historic
- Commerce / Commercial Services
- Hotel, Motel or Inn
- Commerce / Commercial Services
- Shop or Wholesale Establishment
- Residence
- Single Dwelling
- Food Supply
- Barn, Stable or Other Animal Housing
Architect / Designer
n/a
Builder
Mr. Kendrick
Additional Information
Location of Supporting Documentation
Grand Manan Archives, 1141 Route 776, Grand Manan, NB
Cross-Reference to Collection
Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier
2023
Status
Published
Related Places
n/a