Formal Recognition Type

Registered Heritage Structure

Heritage Value

The H.C. Grant Heritage Museum and surrounding property was designated a Registered Heritage Structure by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2005 because of aesthetic, historic and cultural value. The H.C. Grant Heritage Museum has aesthetic value as an example of a family dwelling of its age, place and type. While Springdale was settled in the 1880s, a forest fire spread to and destroyed most of the buildings in the community in 1904. Construction of the home that is now the H.C. Grant Heritage Museum began in 1917 and it is one of the oldest extant buildings in Springdale. The two-and-a-half storey, front facing gable with a side wing and a shed roofed verandah is typical of a sub-group of folk Victorian style. The exterior ornamentation is quite restrained, with simple eaves and window and door trims, square-cornered spindlework in the verandah roof trims and square-cornered rails and posts in the verandah and front stairs. H.C. Grant Heritage Museum has historic value through its association with Springdale’s first mayor. Construction of the dwelling was interrupted when the original owner was killed during World War I. Harvey Clarence Grant purchased the property in 1919 and construction of the Grant family home was finished in 1920. H.C. Grant became Springdale’s first mayor when it was incorporated as a municipality in 1945, serving in that capacity for twenty years. His substantial community service record includes helping to spearhead the province’s Newfoundland Federation of Mayors and Municipalities (now Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador). H.C. Grant Heritage Museum has cultural value through its current function as a museum. H.C. Grant transferred ownership of his house to the Town of Springdale in 1979. In 1981 it became a museum in tribute to Grant, showcasing the house itself, along with domestic artifacts and furnishings from the 1940s to 1960s. Source: Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador property file “Springdale – H.C. Grant Heritage Museum – FPT 2492”

Character Defining Elements

All those exterior elements which contribute to the domestic appearance of the building, and hence indicate its original function, and which are indicative of its age, design and form, including materials: -L-design layout; -number of storeys; -all roof pitches (main pitch is 12/12) and ridge lines; -projection of eaves, and depth and simple decorativeness of eave returns; -placement and style of 2 brick chimneys with corbelled tops; -wood frame construction with painted, narrow, horizontal clapboard, and vertical corner boards; -dimensions, location and design of verandah including: shed roof with square-cornered spindlework trims, projection of eaves, square-cornered posts and balustrade, wood floor, and painted finish; -style and placement of front wooden, painted exterior stairs, including square-cornered balusters and handrails; -size, style, materials and placement of exterior doors, including unelaborate trims and stained glass in front door; and -size, style and placement of windows, including simple trims.

Community

Springdale

Municipality

Town of Springdale

Civic Address

082 Main Street

Construction (circa)

19700101 - 19700101

Style

L - Shape