Description of Historic Place

The former Sebastian Davidson House is located in the rural setting of Anglo Tignish, PEI. It is a two storey shingled home with a gabled roof and neoclassical elements. The registration includes the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

The house dates from approximately the year 1835 and has had very little alteration. It is significant as a well preserved example of the Neoclassical style in the Tignish area. The original owner, Sebastian Davidson, was a clerk who most likely worked for the prominent Myrick family who dominiated the Tignish economy for a century from 1850-1950. James Howe Myrick (1824-1911) had been born in Maine, USA and developed a career as a commission merchant in Boston in the 1840s. By the 1850s, he had established a commercial enterprise in the Tignish area of PEI - operating three stores which offerred farming/fishing supplies, hardware, and groceries. The family resided in the community mainly during the summer months. The Sebastian Davidson house came into Myrick ownership by the end of the 19th Century and in 1894, he sold it to the Gallant family who have resided there for four generations.

Source: PEI Heritage Advisory Committee Files

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the home is embodied in the following Neoclassical elements:
- the symmetrical facade with three evenly spaced dormers on the front elevation
- a central entrance door with glazed surround windows on the front elevation
- the two pairs of windows on either side of the central entrance door on the front elevation
- the gabled roof, bargeboards, and eave returns
- the evenly spaced pair of separated chimneys
- the verandah on the front elevation