AVONPORT, N.S. — She had to see it with her own eyes to believe it and now she is “devastated beyond words.”
Over the past couple of years, Laura Marson has been spearheading efforts to rally community support to save one of Kings County’s oldest standing structures, Avonport’s historic Reid House.
Marson said she found out on Dec. 6 that the house had been demolished after someone posted a photo online. Marson said she and members of the Facebook group “Reid house est 1760” were quite shocked.
“I didn’t want to believe it. Nobody knew from what I gathered,” Marson said. “We drove up that night so that I could be 100 per cent certain.”
It was dark out, but she could see from Highway 101 that the house was definitely gone. Marson said she drove back on Dec. 7 to see if anyone was at the site who could answer her questions but there was nobody there, only the rubble. Whatever heavy equipment had been used to demolish the structure was gone.
She has been told that it was around noon on Dec. 6 that Reid House was torn down. Somebody saw a truck there and later noticed that the house had been flattened.
In recent years, the property has been under the ownership of Nanco Developments. In two articles about Reid House written in 2019, Nanco Developments vice-president Norman Nahas spoke on behalf of the company. Nahas didn’t respond to a Dec. 8 phone message regarding the demolition.
'A devastating blow'
The Reid House was always the first property Marson saw when taking the Highway 101 exit to visit her grandparents and it always held a special place in her heart. She later started researching the property and was astounded by its historical significance.
Marson said the demolition is “a devastating blow” to history and the community. She contacted the Kings County Museum but they weren’t aware of the demolition either.
“The owners didn’t reach out to me or the museum to see if we wanted to salvage anything,” Marson said. “That’s kind of throwing salt on a wound.”
She said it’s “appalling” that somebody wouldn’t think to reach out to the group or the museum before demolishing the house.
“It sends the message that they don’t care about our history and that’s the message that we’re getting, but we care and we’re here,” Marson said.
She said the loss of Reid House would be easier to take if they had been afforded an opportunity to save items of historical significance, such as a mural that had been discovered under wallpaper on one of the interior walls. Marson said her main goal now is to try to save the foundation.
Marson said they worked very hard to get the public interested in preserving the house but then the COVID-19 pandemic happened, which served to shift attention away. She is “losing sleep” thinking about the rich history of the building, which is believed to date from around 1760.
MLA ‘shocked’ by news
In a Dec. 9 interview, Kings South MLA Keith Irving said he was “shocked” by the news and he considers it “tragic.” As an architect, he has a keen interest in built heritage and the loss of the Reid House saddens him. His constituents are upset and he is “deeply troubled” by it.
Irving received several calls about the demolition on Dec. 7 and spent a couple of days investigating. He understands at this point from evidence he has received that the registered provincial heritage property falls under the Heritage Property Act.
There is a process required under the legislation before any action such as demolishing a heritage property can be taken. No approval was given by the province for the deregistration of the property or demolition. Even if the property were sold, the heritage designation is attached to the deed and would still apply.
“It seems to be a clear violation of the act,” Irving said.
He has been in touch with provincial heritage staff who had some contact with the property owners a week ago. Irving also reached out to the Municipality of the County of Kings and learned that a demolition permit was issued.
A covering letter indicated to the owners that, because it was a provincial heritage property, permission from the province was required.
“I’m more than disappointed in what’s happened here,” Irving said. “This was an important building to the community. It’s been protected for 27 years.”
Kings County Mayor Peter Muttart said in a Dec. 10 email that its municipal GIS system has a layer that informs it if a property carries a provincial designation.
“In the result, we could not refuse to issue the permit, but we did advise the applicant that he would have to advise the province and comply with its direction,” Muttart wrote. “As I understand it, the contractor did contact the province.”
Requesting action
Irving said he reached out to Communities, Culture and Heritage Minister Suzanne Lohnes-Croft about the matter on Dec. 8 but she had yet to be briefed on it. Irving said he expressed to her that if the investigation leads to similar findings as his, the “full force of the act” should be used to pursue action against the owners or those responsible for disregarding the legislation.
He pointed out that a corporation can be fined up to $250,000 for violating the act, and an individual can be fined up to $10,000. This would likely be a matter for the courts to decide, but no amount of money can bring the heritage property back, he said.
Through his research, Irving learned that the late Margaret Reid Magee successfully fought the expropriation of the property and the demolition of the house back when Highway 101 went through.
He had been inside the house a number of years ago and recalls being impressed with its chimney structure, which incorporated a large cooking fireplace and beehive oven.
Under investigation
In email correspondence on Dec. 9, Department of Communities, Culture and Heritage communications adviser Matt Lumney confirmed that the matter is under investigation by the department.
“We can confirm that this property is a registered provincial heritage property. To substantially alter or demolish a provincially-registered property, an owner must obtain approval from the Province of Nova Scotia,” Lumney wrote. “No such approval was given. Nor did the province receive an application to demolish the Reid House.”
Did you know?
- According to Gordon Haliburton’s book “Horton Point: A History of Avonport”, the Reid House served many purposes over the years, including a court, tavern, stagecoach stop and hotel.
- A 2015 article by Wendy Elliott titled “Kings County heritage houses at risk” features information from Janice Hattie’s history. The article points out that the house was later used as a post office and election polling station. It was granted a national heritage designation in 2007.
- In a 2019 column, Wendy Elliott wrote that a former owner, the late Margaret Reid Magee, told her in the 1980s that one day a traveler couldn’t afford a bed and painted a mural in exchange for his lodging.
- Zwicker’s Gallery in Halifax assessed the mural, which most likely dated from the early 1800s.
- In 2019, former Kings County Museum curator Bria Stokesbury said the mural appears to be graphite on plaster. They contacted the Canadian Conservation Institute in Ottawa to get suggestions on how to preserve it.
