Description of Historic Place

This decorative two-and-one-half storey Four Square style house is typical of "Fox House" architecture in western Prince Edward Island. It is located on Bell Lane near the Mill River and across from the Mill River Golf Course. It has a symmetrical facade with central entrance. A decorative columned porch supports a columned balcony and both are covered by a large pedimented dormer. The large hipped roof has shed dormers on each of the other sides. Decorative cresting marks all the ridge lines of the roof.

Heritage Value

The house is valued as a fine example of the Four Square or Fox House style; for its historical association with the history of the Bell family; and for its role as an architectural landmark in the community.

Andrew Bell (1819-1908) came from Scotland and purchased 200 acres along the Mill River. He became a prominent farmer and shipbuilder in the area, constructing twenty vessels at his Mill River shipyard.

His son, John (Jack) Bell (1864-1956) left for the United States, but later returned to the area and constructed the current house in 1911. The builder was Neil MacDonald. In 1938, Jack's son, Arthur Sutherland Bell (1907-1978) took over the farm in 1938. The property remained in the Bell family until the late 1990s, when the Gard family purchased it.

The house is remarkably well preserved with many original architectural details including the cresting on the roof, the wide eaves with modillions, the pedimented dormer, and the flared beltcourse dividing the two storeys.

Source: Culture and Heritage Division, PEI Department of Tourism and Culture, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8
File #: 4310-20/A41

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the house is shown in the following character-defining elements:

- the two-and-one-half storey massing and wood frame construction
- the wood shingle cladding including the scalloped shingles of the flared beltcourse
- the symmetrical facade with central entrance
- the pedimented dormer covering a columned and railed balcony set above a columned porch
- the original fenestration including the bay windows
- the steeply pitched hipped roof with hipped roof dormers
- the wide eaves with modillions
- the brick chimneys
- the cresting on the roofline