Description of Historic Place

The Andrew House is a beautifully maintained ell-shaped picturesque style cottage with painted white wood shingles, and clipped gable ends. The west elevation has a series of three dormers with decorative shingle cut patterns in their peaks which match the dormer on the front elevation. The elegant house is situated within sight of the Prince Edward Island National Park dunes, the Gulf of St. Lawrence and overlooks Rustico Harbour.

Heritage Value

This well-maintained ell-shaped Picturesque cottage built between 1910-1920 is prominently located near the dunes of Prince Edward Island's National Park and overlooks Rustico Harbour. This architectural design with clipped gables is rarely seen in this part of the province.

It is believed that Jean Henri Gallant (b. 1876) - or "John Gallant, the Painter" to distinguish him from others in the community with the same name -- constructed the house, adding on to a circa 1840s house relocated to this site from a property in the village of Rustico owned by American fish merchant H. M. Churchill (1819-1892) who owned a great deal of land in Rustico. Gallant was a jack of all trades and was listed in the 1911 census as a carpenter, house painter and sailor. Likely Gallant constructed the larger addition to accommodate the growing family he shared with wife Leonelle/Leonlie. Gallant clearly was a skilled builder as the architectural style and design is similar to that of PEI architect William C. Harris.

When he relocated to Rustico, George Publicover and his wife Mary Jane Moser, widow of John Terlizzick, took possession of the home from Gallant. The Publicover family was originally from Nova Scotia and had previously fished in Georgetown and Bay Fortune prior to settling in North Rustico. George and Mary Jane Publicover's house was the finest house owned by a fisherman's family in the area. George Publicover built a hotel in the 1920s in North Rustico, but later fell on hard financial times and his marriage ended. Mary Jane's eldest step-sons, Hedley and Peter Terlizzick, fished cod, herring and lobster and helped with the younger children. Following Mary Jane's death in 1950, Hedley and Peter continued on in the house and operated it as a rooming house. In 1975 the property was sold out of the family.

Since the mid-1980s the property has been owned by the Andrew family. Alan Andrew spent countless hours restoring the heritage character of the property. Leta Andrew (1901-1997), the current owner's grandmother was a pioneer in the tourism industry in the north shore area of PEI, having established one of the earliest tourism accommodations and was known for her amazing hospitality at her farm property in New Glasgow and was a strong promoter of Cavendish's connection with world renowned author, L.M. Montgomery.

The current owners continue to maintain the architectural character of the home to a high standard. The Andrew House is a fine asset to the community of North Rustico as a tangible reminder of the community's history and continues to be an important component of its streetscape.

Source: Heritage Places files, Dept. of Fisheries, Tourism, Sport & Culture, Charlottetown, PE
File #: 4310-20/A57

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the Andrew House in North Rustico is shown in the following character-defining elements:

- the scale and massing of the building
- the wood shingle cladding
- the fancy cut shingle detailing on upper storey and peaks of the dormers
- the pitch and slope of the roof
- the ell shaped configuration of the house
- the clipped or snubbed gables
- the size and placement of multi-paned windows with hood covers
- the bay windows on the front and west elevations
- the three dormer windows on the west elevation, and dormer on the front elevation
- the enclosed sunporch on the front elevation
- the corner boards

Further contributing heritage character-defining elements:

- the location of the residence overlooking Rustico Harbour and the north shore dunes of the PEI National Park