Former Cutcliffe house demolished

   The former Frank and Winnifred (McDowell) Cutcliffe home at Fredericton corner was demolished on Thanksgiving Monday, Oct. 14, 2019. A young couple had purchased it a few years ago and during Hurricane Dorian it sustained too much damage. 
   The photo below was taken in the summer of 2007.

   When the Cutcliffe house was built it was the largest in the community. Frank Cutcliffe had a store between the house and the Malpeque Road (Rte.2). They were successful merchants. After the Cutcliffe's the store was operated by Martin Jorgensen and at one time the store was an antique shop.
   On Nov. 7, 1935 the Guardian newspaper report, "The members of the Pleasant Valley United Church Women (UCW) held a very successful chicken supper at the spacious home of Mr. & Mrs. Frank Cutcliffe. The ladies served supper to about 170 people. An enjoyable social evening was spent in music and games. A substantial sum was realized for the church. A hearty vote of thanks was tendered to Mr. & Mrs. Cutcliffe for their hospitality."
   In the late 1960s or early 1970s the house was bought by two couples, one by the name of Pryor from Quebec and was turned into an inn. It was famously known as the Seven-Keys Inn. The end of the house facing the road featured seven large wood keys fanned out. The seven rooms for rent were decorated differently in styles from around the world.
    Over the years many different people lived in this house. 

    The following photos were taken in the summer of 2007 when Route-2 Highway in Hunter River was widened. In the photo below the former Cutcliffe house is on the left and across the street, Fredericton Station Rd., was the old Howard Weeks home. Howard was a master carpenter and built many houses in the area in the early 1900s. The Malpeque Rd. (Rte. 2) is at the bottom of the photo. 

   That summer of 2007 many, many buildings in Fredericton along Rte. 2 highway were torn down or moved - it surely changed the look and feel of the community.
   Below the beige house was the first Fredericton School turned into a house where Whitfield and Daisy Abbott lived. To the right was the old Fredericton Hall.

Below was the Church of Christ, also torn down that summer of 2007.

   Below was the last Fredericton School converted to a house. It belonged to the MacKenzie's who moved it to the Smith Road in Pleasant Valley to a vacant lot once owned by Willa Smith.

  Below, way back the driveway was the farm of Miller and Francis (McDowell) Stevenson. The house at the top of the driveway was the former Church of Christ manse where Miller and Francis lived and their son and daughter-in-law lived in the old house. The old house was torn down to make way for a new house and the bungalow was moved to Hazel Grove. 

  Below was the old feed mill originally owned and operated by the Cutcliffe's. In later years it was owned by the MacKenzie's. It too was torn down.

Miminegash United Church closed

     I was sad to learn the last service was held in the little Miminegash United Church in early July 2019. The church is located on Route 14 in St. Lawrence in western PEI. This little church was part of the Alberton-Elmsdale Pastoral Charge.
     Though it might seem insignificant, the church had a very interesting history as outlined in a 20-page booklet celebrating their 100th anniversary in the summer of 1981.
     Below are photos I took of the church last week.

 

     Below is the anniversary booklet I scanned so the history may be shared.

Old Forsyth Homestead destroyed

     The old Forsyth homestead at 187 Dock Road in the community Union (between Elmsdale and Alberton) was destroyed in April 2019 by a "control burn" by the local fire department.
     I took these photos on Apr. 11, 2004 from the road before the leaves came onto the trees - the house was quite a distance from the road.
     The 1880 Meacham's Atlas of PEI shows John Forsyth Jr. living here with 104-acres.
     The 1928 Cummin's Atlas of PEI shows John W. Forsyth living here with a bit more acreage. It notes his wife, Martha Minnetta Hodgson and their four daughters: Margaret, Jean, Mary and Dorothy. (Margaret never married; Jean married Lloyd Wilkie; Mary married Russell Lockerby; and Dorothy married Leslie Hardy).
     The last person to live in this house was Margaret Forsyth. I believe she passed away in the mid-1980s. She was the secretary for the Town of Alberton for many years. No one lived here following her passing. The contents of this house were sold. By chance I found a box of 1940's Christmas cards at Riverview Antiques and bought them.   

     This house displays two eras in architectural periods and style. The original house is the kitchen wing (left) to the rear of the main house (right) and was built in the "center-dormer style" in the 1850s. The main part of the house was built later, possibly around 1900 when a new generation might have taken over the homestead.

Since 1873 the Province has lost scores of...

     It's interesting to read the lament of a Guardian correspondent 91 years ago about the loss of old buildings.

     Since 1873 the Province has lost scores of carriage-building shops and saw and grist mills, also scores of carriage-buildings, carpentering and blacksmith shops and its only woollen factory. Cutting away limited forests has made us more and more dependent upon imported coal for fuel. And we have lost our luscious and once world-famous Malpeque oysters. On the other hand we have gained a silver fox-breeding and fur-farming industry of great value, the benefits of which we are now shared by many nations.” -The Charlottetown Guardian, June 30, 1928 (www.islandnewspapers.ca)