Description of Historic Place

Wecob is located on Wake Up Hill Road in Marriott's Cove, Nova Scotia. This New England Cape Cod style house, built around 1763, is one of the oldest houses located in the Chester Township, which was first settled in 1760. The building and property are included in the provincial designation.

Heritage Value

Wecob is valued because it was built by Reverend John Seccombe, a prominent religious leader in Nova Scotia and because it is a pure example of a three-quarters New England Cape Cod, which has been little altered on its exterior since its construction.

The Reverend John Seccombe built Wecob on Wake Up Hill Road around 1763, when his family joined him in the recently settled Chester Township. Reverend Seccombe had come two years earlier as the resident Congregationalist minister and as one of the original proprietors.

Until his death in 1792, Seccombe remained a prominent religious leader in the province. After his death, the house and farm passed to his daughter Hannah and her husband Ebenezer Fitch and then to their son John. In 1840, the property was sold to George Hawboldt and remained in his family until 1969.

The house and property are located on a hill and point of land jutting out into the south side of Mahone Bay on Nova Scotia’s South Shore. To the Mi’kmaq, the hill was "Wecob," translated into English as wigwam. Later this was further Anglicized as “Wake Up Hill” or “Wick Up Hill”. Today, Wecob is used to describe the hill and house.

Wecob is a pure example of a three-quarters New England Cape Cod. It still has its centre chimney, though the fireplaces had to be rebuilt using the original brick. A completely square structure, the interior beams stretch the full length and breadth of the house. On the outside, the original shingles remain on two walls, with matching replacement cedar shingles on the others and the windows are six over six. The house has been carefully restored to its eighteenth century appearance.

Wecob is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, houses in Chester Township, which was first settled in 1760. It is certainly the best preserved with the least exterior alterations.

Source: Provincial Heritage Program property files, no. 82, 1747 Summer Street, Halifax, NS.

Character-Defining Elements

Character-defining elements of Wecob relate to its New England Cape Cod style and include:

- one-and-three-quarter storey wood construction with some remaining original shingles;
- square floor plan with interior beams running the full length of the building;
- original central chimney;
- steeply pitched gable roof;
- 6/6 windows.