Port Joli Community Hall
DESCRIPTION OF HISTORIC PLACE
The Port Joli Community Hall is a two-storey wood-frame building constructed in 1868. It is located on the north side of Highway 103 opposite the St. Catherine’s River Road in Port Joli, Nova Scotia. Municipal heritage designation applies to the building and the land it occupies.
HERITAGE VALUE
The Port Joli Community Hall was originally built as a schoolhouse in 1868 and served in that capacity until the late 1950s. Its heritage value rests in its history as the village schoolhouse and its use since then as a community hall.
The Port Joli schoolhouse was built on part of the two hundred acres of land granted to Corporal John Robertson, leader of the group of twenty-two disbanded Loyalist soldiers from the 76th Highlander Regiment who came here from Shelburne in 1786 and were the first settlers in the area. It would appear that the land on which the building was constructed was not actually deeded for the purpose until some time later, in 1897, when Archie Robertson, a descendant of Corporal John Robertson, conveyed the ninety-six hundred square feet of land to the Port Joli School Section No. 2.
Even during its use as a schoolhouse, the upstairs area of the schoolhouse was a gathering place for community activities. Temperance meetings were held there, where it was required that attendees breathe through a “breathalyzer” hole in the door to prove they were not under the influence of the “demon alcohol”.
Residents of Port Joli attended this schoolhouse for nearly ninety years, until the amalgamation of small community schools that took place in the late 1950s. In 1961, when many of the village schoolhouses no longer needed for educational purposes were being sold, the Municipality of Queens deeded the property to the Port Joli Community Centre. Since then this building has continued to serve as a centre for most community activities, since it is the only public building in Port Joli.
In 2007 a group of local residents, the Port Joli Community Association, made the decision to refurbish the old schoolhouse, restoring it to an earlier appearance and improving access to the facility. A one-storey addition was removed from the east side of the building, vinyl siding was removed exposing the intact upper storey windows, and a new entrance and ramp were added, providing required accessibility. After application by the Association, registered heritage property status was granted in May, 2009.
CHARACTER-DEFINING ELEMENTS
- location on Highway 103 across from road into main settlement of Port Joli;
- narrow set-back from road;
- two-storey wood-frame construction;
- wooden clapboard cladding;
- symmetrical façade with three bays in first storey and two bays in upper storey;
- centred front entrance;
- double hung sash windows with four-over-four glazing in first storey windows and six-over-six glazing in upper storey windows;
- medium pitched gable roof;
- stone foundation.
From Historic Places Canada