One may initially feel that this house, given its great age, might be a bit of a rarity in Shelburne. Such is not the case in this neighbourhood, as there are quite a number of buildings of roughly the same age nearby which have managed to survive.
This house and store was built between 1785 and 1786 by brothers George and Robert Ross as a general merchandise store with living quarters above. In the store the Ross brothers carried on a brisk trade in tea, coffee, rum, port and wine, offering the necessities of life, as well as imported luxuries, to the town’s residents for 30 years. The building is the "
only remaining eighteenth century store in Nova Scotia".
Sold in 1815 to the brother's former clerk, Robert Thomson, his son Robert Ross Thomson kept the store open until his death in 1880. For a time Robert Ross Thomson also operated the Shelburne Post Office out of the store.
Cherished for its age, its uniqueness and its connection to the early history of Shelburne, the building has been purchased by the Province of Nova Scotia and incorporated into the Museum of Nova Scotia.
Travel back in time to discover 1780s Nova Scotia and the recently settled town of Shelburne, where thousands of Loyalist refugees began new lives after the American War of Independence.
It is in this historic store that seasoned merchants George and Robert Ross carried on international trade in tea, coffee, rum, port and wine, offering both necessities and luxuries to the town’s residents.
Stroll Ross-Thomson House & Store's gardens; step up to the store’s counter and ask the clerk about the kinds of goods the Ross Brothers once bartered and sold; spend time inside the living quarters, furnished in the sparse but elegant style of the period; and visit the Militia Room above the shop where you might meet a 1780s militia guard.
From the Ross-Thomson House & Store Museum
Ross-Thomson House
DESCRIPTION OF HISTORIC PLACE
Built in 1785-1786, the Ross-Thomson house is a large two-and-a-half storey, wood framed structure with a gable roof at the south end and gambrel roof at the north. The former shop and residence was built with its narrow end facing one of Shelburne's main streets. A residential extension was connected to the original structure by one door at ground level. Both the building and its surrounding property are included in the heritage designation.
HERITAGE VALUE
The historical value of the Ross-Thomson House is associated with its builders and earliest residents. It was built between 1785 and 1786 by brothers George and Robert Ross. The brothers came to Shelburne as Loyalists wanting to escape the American Revolution, as did many of Shelburne’s earliest settlers. The brothers operated an international trading business from the house, ran a small store for local residents, and lived in the residential rear section of the building. In 1815 the store was sold to the brother's former clerk Robert Thomson whose son Robert Ross Thomson continued to operate a store there until his death in 1880. Robert Ross Thomson served for a time as Shelburne’s post master and the post office was located in the store. He also was a lieutenant-colonel of the local militia in the late 1860s, during the Fenian raids, and the room above the store was used at that time as the militia room. The building is currently operated as a museum.
Architectural Value:
The Ross-Thomson house is valued for its age, as a typical example of buildings constructed during the first years of Loyalist settlement in the area, and as the only remaining eighteenth century store in Nova Scotia. It reflects the history of trade and commerce in Nova Scotia and its contribution to the development of Shelburne. The building also shows a New England architectural influence, typical of many of Nova Scotia's earliest homes.
CHARACTER-DEFINING ELEMENTS
- form and massing of the store and the house;
- heavy plank doors, studded, barred and double-locked;
- windows flashed with birch bark cut only in north and west sides of house except for small window high in east wall;
- wood construction on granite foundation;
- fireplace in store with mouldings reminiscent of Italian art recorded 300 years earlier;
- mouldings in Scottish styles and shapes recorded 500 years earlier;
- mail slot in the shutter of north window;
- early hardware.
From Historic Places Canada