Description of Historic Place

Huestis House is a Second Empire, two-storey house built in 1887 on a slope overlooking the Halifax Dockyards in Halifax, NS and adjacent to St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church Rectory on Brunswick Street. The designation includes the building and the property surrounding it.

Heritage Value

Huestis House is valued for its associations with former owners and residents, and for its Second Empire style with Victorian elements.

The first resident of Huestis House was Rev. Dr. Stephen F. Huestis, an eminent Methodist minister. Huestis was also the editor of the widely read newspaper “The Weslyan.” He graduated from Mount Allison University and was awarded a honourary degree of Doctor of Divinity. Huestis was the President of the Nova Scotia Methodist Conference in 1879, and was involved with many other conferences in Canada and the United States.

A later resident was Stephen Angus Doane who purchased the house from Huestis in 1912. He was a partner in the shipping firm of A.G. Jones & Co. Shortly after Doane joined, the firm became Pickford & Black Company Ltd., a well known Halifax firm. Like Huestis, Doane played an active role in Halifax's community life. He was the president of the Mayflower Curling Club, a member of the Nova Scotian team for the Canadian Rifle Championships, was active in the Nova Scotia Liberal Party, and was the Chief High Range of Nova Scotia in the Independent Order of Foresters.

Architecturally, the house is a fine example of a small-scale simplified Second Empire house. It features a mansard roof with dormers and decorative trim. In relation to surrounding residential buildings of the Brunswick Street area, the Huestis House is slightly smaller in scale than some of the larger two-and-one-and-a-half storey houses but is completely compatible to the area. The elegant details of the fashionable Victorian residential street are evident in the design of this residence.

Source: HRM Heritage Property File 2275 Brunswick Street, Huestis House, found at HRM Planning and Development Services, Heritage Property Program, 6960 Mumford Road, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of Huestis House relate to its Second Empire architecture and include:

- mansard roof;
- wide board trim around the door with prominent moulded cap and large brackets;
- above the dormers on the second floor there are segmental arched roofs;
- fretwork ornamentation over the dormers and bay windows, and transom;
- two light transom;
- ornamental frieze over the transom and bay window;
- one-quarter round trim corners.