Significantly for Canada, Ottawa house is a former summer home of one of the Fathers of Confederation, our sixth Prime Minister, Sir Charles Tupper. Moreover, Ottawa House is the oldest building in Cumberland County. The Parrsborough Shore Historical Society was founded in 1981 for the express purpose of saving and restoring the historic Ottawa House By-the-Sea.
Charles Tupper is one of the main subjects of the museum, along with the history of the area. The museum holds a large collection of "Tupper" photographs and memorabilia as well as historical photographs and artefacts from the area. Once again we missed the opportunity to tour the museum, as it was undergoing renovations and was scheduled to open for the summer 10 days after our visit.
Located on the north side of the Minas Basin, part of the Bay of Fundy, here one can experience the world's highest tides from right at the museum. If you're unable to visit in person the museum offers three
Video Tours, one of which covers areas of the museum not accessible to the public.
Tree-ring analysis of hand-hewn timbers from the original section of the building revealed dates from 1767 to the mid 1770s, which match the dates of those of other early homes in the Grand Pré area. This is the centre section of the building, to which was added in 1830 a building which was moved from the village of Parrsboro and joined to
the east end of the original building. Around 1860 a large addition was made to the west end.
The Ottawa House by the Sea Museum is 3 km from Parrsboro at Partridge Island. The site overlooks the Minas Basin and former ferry route to Annapolis Valley Regions. Ottawa House built in the late 1760's served primarily as an inn but is best known as the summer home of the Rt. Hon. Sir Charles Tupper. He was a Premier of Nova Scotia, Father of Confederation and sixth Prime minister of Canada. The Museum is now undergoing major restorative and interpretive improvements. Exhibits focus on the storyline of the building and the site, as the witness to the waves of human occupation, industry and historical events of the early colony and nation.
From Nova Scotia Attractions![]()