Description of Historic Place

The Alexander Hood House is a two storey Classic Revival style house of wood construction. Built around 1845, it features a medium pitched gable roof and a centred entrance beneath a second storey projecting bay with a Palladian window. It is located on Collins Street, within the Collins Heritage Conservation District, and is near the downtown business district and the waterfront in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Municipal heritage designation applies to the house and its residential lot.

Heritage Value

The Alexander Hood House is valued for its association with Alexander Hood who served as Postmaster in the Town of Yarmouth from 1864 until his death in 1907. It is also valued for its Classic Revival architecture.

The Alexander Hood House was originally constructed around 1845 for James D. Cann, a mariner, whose mortgage of 50 pounds sterling borrowed to build the house was foreclosed ten years later for failure to make payments. The property was sold at public auction in July, 1855 and between then and 1889 the property was bought and sold five more times before being purchased by Alexander Hood, its most notable owner.

Alexander Hood was born in Weymouth, NS, and came to Yarmouth as a young man, having been trained as a tinsmith. In Yarmouth he opened his own business, which within several years developed into the largest stove store in the western end of the province. In 1864, at age 30, he was appointed Postmaster of Yarmouth, a position he retained until his death on Dec. 31, 1907. He is most noted for having erected in Yarmouth, at his own expense, what is believed to be the first purpose-built post office building in the province.

The Classic Revival style architecture of the Alexander Hood house is typical in its two storey symmetrical massing, medium pitched gable roof and symmetrical five bay facade. The projecting bay with a Palladian window above the centred front entrance is unusual. The house is relatively unchanged except for the addition of a small open deck on the northwest corner and the glazing pattern in some windows.

Source: Registered Heritage Property files, Town of Yarmouth, NS.

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the Alexander Hood House include:

- location within the Collins Heritage Conservation District
- proximity to the main downtown business district and the waterfront
- proximity to other houses of similar scale
- modest size residential lot
- narrow setback from street

The character-defining elements of the Classic Revival architecture of the Alexander Hood House include:

- two storeys
- symmetrical massing
- medium pitched gable roof
- wood frame construction and cladding
- five bay facade with centred entrance
- double hung sash windows
- Palladian window in second storey projecting bay