Cape Bear Lighthouse - close to going over cliff!

     I was out to Cape Bear in eastern Prince Edward Island last Friday morning.  I took the following photos of the historic Cape Bear Lighthouse.  It's still there and not yet moved to a safer location.
     I prepared site development drawings 11 years ago to relocate the lighthouse to another site and again in 2009, however, for a variety of reasons the lighthouse was never moved.  The problem now is the lighthouse is so close to the cliff that construction moving equipment can't safely get in to prepare the move.  Possibly they could use a wind turbine crane to lift it away from the cliff and save it from its impending demise.
     Will the lighthouse go over the cliff in the spring of 2014?

See post earlier in this blog...

http://peiheritagebuildings.blogspot.ca/2012/04/titanic-sos-heard-first-in-canada-at.html

 

Summerside Orphanage, 1961

     Here are two photos sent to me for confirmation that this is the Summerside Orphanage taken in 1961.  I can't find any information about the Orphanage.  

 Above: the large farmhouse - note the nun on the verandah.

Below: I'm not sure if the view is in the Summerside area.

St. Charles Borromeo, Summerside

     I came across the following information about the Catholic congregation in Summerside.

     "By the 1840's  a few Catholic families lived here and in 1853 they moved the vacated Indian River church to Summerside, placing it under the patronage of St. Charles Borromeo."  cf.  A Faith Walk: Diocese of Charlottetown by Revd. Art O'Shea. Page 91.

    Also the following information comes from pages 109-110 of Down at the Shore: A History of Summerside, Prince Edward Island (1751-1945) by Robert Alan Rankin

     ""The first church building erected in the village was St. Charles Roman Catholic church, brought from Indian River during the summer of 1853 and raised on the west side of Summer just above First Street.  It had been the original parish church at Indian River.  The priest there, Reverend James MacDonald, frequently passed through Greens Shore on the way to missions at Grand River and Seven Mile Bay, and he saw the prospects of yet another Catholic community.  Actually moving the church was "a great undertaking for the time," requiring a large crew of workmen to pull it down, haul it, then put it in good repair again.

     St. Charles church was dedicated on October 19,1853, by Bishop MacDonald.  Services took place once every four weeks in the beginning; however, by 1865 the parish had grown remarkably and plans were made to built a large brick church on Central Street.  It was commenced in 1869 and after serveral delays finally dedicated as St. Pauls in 1877...A convent was also built, in 1868, on the Northeast corner of the new church lot, and a parochial house moved to Summerside from Fifteen Point (Mont Carmel) on the ice in the winter of 1871.  The old St. Charles mission church was purchased by a local shoemaker and the original parochial house , put up alongside about 1860, became part of the R.T. Holman's residence.""

    The following information comes from Historic Places website about the R.T. Holman house... http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=16273

R.T. Holman House - front.  Photo by Carter Jeffery.

     The house is valued for its well preserved architectural elements; its historical association with the history of the Roman Catholic Church in Summerside; the history of the family of R.T. Holman; and for its contribution to the streetscape.
     Robert Tinson Holman (1833-1906) acquired the land as three separate parcels. The first one purchased was the lot and house sold to him in 1870 by Rev. James MacDonald, a Roman Catholic priest. The Lake Map of 1863 clearly shows a Roman Catholic Parsonage on the lot and historians believe that this building became the home of the Holman family.
     The second parcel of land purchased by R.T. Holman was also obtained from Rev. James MacDonald. Acquired in 1875, it was the adjacent lot running 50 feet along Fitzroy and 116 feet along Summer Street and was the former site of the Roman Catholic chapel, which had been brought to Summerside from Indian River in 1853. The chapel faced Summer Street and was used as a place of worship until 1874.
     The third parcel that makes up the property of the Holman Homestead was acquired by Mr. Holman from Daniel H. MacDonald of Bedeque in 1885. It was located on the west side of the house and measured 45 feet along Fitzroy Street and 100 feet in depth. The 1878 Ruger's Map shows the Holman house with the large ell attached, but with a one storey wing on the east side. Conjecture is that this wing was enlarged sometime after 1880.

R.T. Holman House - rear.  Photo by Carter Jeffery.

Little Sands United Church

     I was up to eastern Prince Edward Island on Friday morning.  I stopped at this church on Route 18 in Little Sands to take a bunch of photos.  It's closed now and its' future is uncertain.    
     I was here once before about 10 years ago when a local group hosted an art show here.

Historical information cf.
http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=5255

HERITAGE VALUE

This whimsical building is a rare example of a local church style in PEI, combining elements of the Neoclassical and Carpenter Gothic. The Little Sands United Church is valued for its unique architectural style and for its contribution to the local community. Built in 1898 under the guidance of D.J. MacLean, the congregation was originally Presbyterian. Before its construction, the Scottish settlers of the area worshipped with those of nearby Wood Islands in a crude 24' by 30' building at Wood Islands. Beginning in 1843, clergy from the Free Church of Scotland led the worship services. After the union of various branches of the Presbyterian Church in Canada in 1875, a new church was built at Little Sands. This was eventually replaced by the current structure in 1898. At the opening service, preachers from various denominations took part and sermons were rendered in both English and Gaelic. In 1925, the church became affiliated with the United Church of Canada.

The architectural style of the building is unique in PEI. The main body of the building exhibits Carpenter Gothic elements such as pointed arch windows, a gable roof with eave returns, and a circular window on the front elevation representing a "double Trinity". The side tower with its square windows and pedimented gables as well as the columns and pedestals under the tri-gabled verandah are Neoclassical. Other interesting features include the contrasting vertical and horizontal cladding which is wooden clapboard.

The building is well preserved and original except for the additions of a metal roof and a metal cone over the side tower. With its long history and pastoral location, the church contributes to Little Sands as a landmark in the community.

Source: PEI Heritage Advisory Committee Files

Front/south view.

Below: wonderful detailing of board 'n batten.

I took photos of the interior by putting my camera square against the glass windows.

Below: window sash, note the wood peg.

Below: east side of the church.

Note the house across the road.

Island Sandstone downspout splash pads.

     Like most Island churches - this church was built bascially on the ground with no basements.  First they laid the perimeter stones, as you can see here, then the floor was framed with a narrow crawl space.

Below: West side of church.

     The following information comes from H.M. Scott Smith's  book,  The Historic Churches of Prince Edward Island. 1986.  Page 100.  

     Little Sands United Church (former Presbyterian) is a peculiar little church on the south shore of Kings's County.  Its angular front elevations is an indigenous style, being an interpretation by local builders of other concurrent trends in religious architecture, the neo-Classic and Carpenter-Gothic styles.  The multi-gabled front verandah, alternating vertical and horizontal clapboard siding and small rectangular windows give the front facade a texture, warmth and re-stained humor that is not often found in other Island churches.  The symbolism of the circular window high in the front of the nave remains somewhat uncertain, although a local authority claims that the twin triangles represent the Double Trinity.

     The residents of  Little Sands and Wood Islands initially formed one congregation of the Church of Scotland, and the church building they shared was a small (24'x30'), half-finished hall in Wood Island.  From 1843, Little Sands and Wood Islands were supplied with ministers and probationers of the Free Church of Scotland.  During the term of pastor Donald MacNeill (1857-1872), a new church was buitl at Little Sands and a manse and church were constructed at Wood Island.  In 1892 the Presbytery of Prince Edward Island placed Little Sands with Murray Harbour and Murray River to form a new pastoral charge.  In 1898 the present church at Little Sands was built under the direction of D.J. MacLean.  Although the interior has been modernized, the old box pews remain.  When Church Union came in to effect, in 1925, Little Sands became part of the United Church of Canada.
     Little Sands United Church is located on Route 4, overlooking Northumberland Strait.