Description of Historic Place

C.B. Archibald House is a one and one-half storey wood-frame residence located at 86 Queen Street in Truro, NS. Built in 1851 in a variant of Gothic Revival style, the house features wide gables with heavy brackets, and two elaborate chimneys. Both the building and the surrounding property are included in the heritage designation.

Heritage Value

Historic Value

C.B. Archibald House is valued for its association with Charles Blair Archibald, a descendant of several of the families who originally settled Truro. Archibald, who built this house in 1851, was a successful businessman who operated a mail and coach service between Truro and Amherst from 1854 until the railway was completed in 1872. In 1875, he was elected the first Mayor of the newly-incorporated Town of Truro.

Architectural Value

The C.B. Archibald House is valued for its unusual architectural style, which combines Gothic Revival forms with the contemporaneous Greek Revival proportions. The addition of two cross gables to a gable-end structure has created a house essentially cruciform in shape, unique in Truro.

Source: Planning Department, Town of Truro, file 10MNS0027

Character-Defining Elements

Character-Defining elements of the C.B. Archibald House incude:

- all Gothic Revival style features, including: basic form and massing; moderately-pitched side-gable roof and matching cross gables; a single storey hip-roofed extension added on the side; heavy paired brackets under the roof and extension eaves; elaborate chimneys prominently placed on the roof ridge; gable-roofed open porches on the front and rear, supported by heavy paired brackets on square pillars.
- all historic or original window and door elements, including: double-hung sashed windows with six-over-six glazing; wide moulded window surrounds with caps and contrasting shutters;
- all historic or original building materials, including: wooden shingle cladding;
- placement close to the street in the manner of Truro’s oldest houses; location at the intersection of two historic streets; tree sculpture of C.B. Archibald beside the building.