Built circa 1785, the Peter Guyon House was one of the great many built in Shelburne two years after the arrival of the United Empire Loyalists. Most who landed at Shelburne had embarked from New York City, bound for the relative safety of Nova Scotia.
Peter Guyon [Mar 23, 1753 – 1825] was one of the organizers of the
Port Roseway Associates, the group who immigrated with Guyon. Guyon himself immigrated with a family of five and one servant. The name
Port Roseway comes from the fact that, until shortly after the arrival of the Loyalists, Shelburne was named Port Roseway.
A stroll down Dock Street will reveal that essentially all the houses
along the street are two and a half story buildings, the type built in the eighteenth century by men with means, as was the case with Peter Guyon. Dock Street, stretching along the harbour's edge, would have been, as it remains today, a desirable building location, likely affordable only by the more well to do members of the community.
Shelburne's History
Shelburne Harbour has the third best natural harbour in the world. The native Mik'maq traversed the Roseway River and used the surrounding lands for summer encampments long before our shores were visited by Spanish, Portuguese and French fishermen.
In the spring of 1783, 5,000 settlers arrived on the shores of Shelburne Harbour from New York and the middle colonies of America. Assurance of living under the British flag, and promises of free land, tools, and provisions lured many to the British Colonies at that time. Four hundred families associated to form a town at Port Roseway, which Governor Parr renamed Shelburne later that year. This group became known as the Port Roseway Associates. In the fall of 1783, a second wave of settlers arrived in Shelburne. By 1784, the population of this new community is estimated to have been at least 10,000; the fourth largest in North America, much larger than either Halifax or Montreal.
In 1787, government distribution of provisions was terminated. Within a few years, houses were put up for sale, and settlers left for England, New Brunswick, Upper Canada, and the United States. In the 1820s, the population of Shelburne had dwindled to about 300.
Although much smaller today than when it started, Shelburne remains the capital of the county which bears its name. It was incorporated as a town on April 4, 1907. The population in 2011 was 1686. Many descendants of the original Loyalists still live in the area today.
From the Town of Shelburne
Peter Guyon House
DESCRIPTION OF HISTORIC PLACE
Peter Guyon House is located on the northeast corner of Charlotte Lane and Dock Street in Shelburne, Nova Scotia. This two-and-a-half storey Georgian style building was built circa 1785. The building and property are included in the designation.
HERITAGE VALUE
The Peter Guyon House is valued for its association with Peter Guyon, the Loyalist migration, and for its contribution to the streetscape along Shelburne’s historic Dock Street.
The Peter Guyon House was built circa 1785 when Shelburne was struggling to establish itself. Peter Guyon was a Huguenot descendent who was among one of two groups of Loyalist refugees from the American colonies who fled from New York to the safety of Shelburne in 1783 at the end of the American Revolution. Guyon, originally a farmer, was one of approximately 120 heads of families who met to organize a settlement in the "land of hope" - Nova Scotia – where they were promised land and some support to establish a settlement. Drawn from all walks of life and several states, they formed the Port Roseway Associates after the area in which they hoped to settle. Some of the Loyalists who arrived in Port Roseway – renamed Shelburne shortly following their arrival – had the means to build large, even two-storey homes, similar to those they were accustomed to in their former homes. Several of these remain, including the Petery Guyon House.
Circa 1895, the Peter Guyon House was bought by Arthur F. and Elmore Bower. They lived in this house and as well they operated a grocery store on the north side of the house facing Dock Street.
Typical of many Loyalist homes, the Peter Guyon House is a two-and-a-half storey Georgian style building. It has a hipped gable roof with central chimney on the south exposure and a gable roof on the north. There is very little overhang, but there are cornerboards with moulding at the top. The façade is asymmetrical with an enclosed porch supported by very small posts. The foundation is of stone, not cut granite like others in the area, with a high basement to offset the grade of Charlotte Lane.
The Peter Guyon House is an excellent example of earlier dwellings in Shelburne and is an important part of the Dock Street streetscape.
CHARACTER-DEFINING ELEMENTS
- prominent location backing onto Dock Street;
- two-and-a-half storey wood construction;
- hipped gable roof on the south exposure;
- gable roof on the north exposure;
- central chimney;
- cornerboards with moulding at the top;
- asymmetrical front façade;
- stone foundation;
- high basement to offset the grade of Charlotte Lane.
From Historic Places Canada