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49 Cornwallis Street

49 Cornwallis Street, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, B0J, Canada

Formally Recognized: 1992/02/27

49 Cornwallis Street, Old Town Lunenburg, front façade, 2004; Heritage Division, Nova Scotia Department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage, 2004
front façade
49 Cornwallis Street, Old Town Lunenburg, from the northeast showing windowless north façade, 2004; Heritage Division, Nova Scotia Department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage, 2004
from the northeast
49 Cornwallis Street, Old Town Lunenburg, rear façade, 2004; Heritage Division, Nova Scotia Department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage, 2004
rear façade

Other Name(s)

49 Cornwallis Street
Finck-Holder House

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

1829/01/01 to 1829/12/31

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2004/09/28

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

49 Cornwallis Street is a two-storey, wooden residential home situated at the streetline at the corner of Cornwallis and Townsend Streets, in Old Town Lunenburg, NS, a Heritage Conservation District. It has a solid, symmetrical appearance, reflecting its Georgian character, with some Victorian ornamentation. Designation includes the building and surrounding property.

Heritage Value

49 Cornwallis Street is valued for its age, architectural style and exterior details that exemplify both Georgian and Victorian trends. The house was built circa 1829 for Martin Oxner, a local merchant. In 1863 the property was sold to Stephen Finck and it remained in the Finck family until 1915 when it was sold to Leonard Holder.

Signatures on an attic wall bear witness to the fact that the house was altered in 1870 by the Morash brothers, Solomon and Joseph, well known local builders, presumably carrying out the changes from a Georgian to Victorian exterior. These changes would have included replacement of the smaller windows with the larger ones now in place, and the addition of two Scottish dormers. Local lore explains the lack of windows on the north façade as an attempt by one of the owners to block communication between his five daughters and the young men staying at the rooming house on the next property. Recent interior work has revealed the frames of the original windows on that side of the house.

Source: Heritage Designation File 66400-40-25, Town of Lunenburg.

Character-Defining Elements

Character-defining elements of the house at 49 Cornwallis Street include:

- all Georgian features including: clapboard siding, with wide cornerboards; central door with deep transom window; two massive central chimneys; symmetrical appearance.
- all Victorian features including: detail on the windows at the lintels, sills, and entablatures; medium pitch roof with two Scottish dormers; semi-circular windows centrally located on the second storey; detail around the front door, transom and sidelights; tall rectangular two-over-two windows.

Recognition

Jurisdiction

Nova Scotia

Recognition Authority

Local Governments (NS)

Recognition Statute

Heritage Property Act

Recognition Type

Municipally Registered Property

Recognition Date

1992/02/27

Historical Information

Significant Date(s)

n/a

Theme - Category and Type

Peopling the Land
Settlement

Function - Category and Type

Current

Residence
Single Dwelling
Residence
Multiple Dwelling

Historic

Architect / Designer

n/a

Builder

Solomon Morash

Additional Information

Location of Supporting Documentation

Town of Lunenburg, 119 Cumberland Street, P.O. Box 129, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, B0J 2C0

Cross-Reference to Collection

Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier

37MNS0025

Status

Published

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