Description of Historic Place

The Horace Howatt House (also known as the Henderson House) is a storey-and-a-half Arts and Crafts residence constructed at the turn of the 20th century in Central Bedeque, Prince Edward Island. Situated on its original footprint within a large yard, this symmetrical house commands a prominent position near the village's western corner.

Heritage Value

The Horace Howatt (Henderson) House is valued for its exceptional overall craftsmanship, original architectural flourishes, and excellent preservation, as well as for being a rare example of its style both within the region of Central Bedeque and across the province, in addition to its importance to its community.

Built on a centre hall plan, this storey-and-a-half Arts and Crafts house was constructed circa 1901 by Horace Howatt, the son of John Howatt and Lavinia Davies (Wright). A carpenter by trade, Howatt was in business with the Bowness family, possibly accounting for the house's location at the western corner of Central Bedeque, which for many years was the site of W.T. Bowness and Sons (store and warehouse) and familiarly known as "Bowness' Corner".

Although the house was occupied by the Howatt family for a large part of its existence, it is equally recognized as the Henderson House for its long association with two generations of the Henderson family who resided there for nearly half a century. In 1939, James Francis Henderson (1873-1958) retired to this well-appointed property, turning over management of the Henderson homestead ("Applegarth Farm") to his son John "Arnold" (1911-1979). The elder Henderson was held in high regard as a skilled woodworking craftsman, no doubt accounting for many of the ornate flourishes that can be seen on the exterior of the house today.

In 1961, Arnold Henderson sold Applegarth Farm and likewise retired to this house, at the same time taking up the position of office manager with Callbeck's Limited, a business intrinsically connected to the small community and well-known across Prince Edward Island. During his career with Callbeck's, Arnold played a key role in the transition of this traditional country store into a larger, streamlined supermarket-style of operation, a concept that began to take hold in the province during the 1970s with the introduction of box stores and large grocery chains in urban centers, whereby products were pre-packaged and displayed on shelving.

Between 1982 and the turn of the 21st century, the house was occupied by the Leard and O'Connor families, and has been in the possession of the current owners since 2002.

Very little has been done to modify the exterior of the house, and what has been altered has been carried out in a sympathetic manner. New inserts have been installed in the matching bay windows on the lower front elevation, retaining the original woodworking. Three brick chimneys were installed around 1970, as well as another on the roof of the kitchen ell, to which a small extension was added circa 2000 while maintaining a curved roofline in harmony with the slope of the roofline on the front elevation.

The Howatt (Henderson) House is significant for its strong historical association (social and economic) to Arnold Henderson, who was instrumental in reimagining the idea of the traditional general store and bringing it into the modern commercial era. More broadly, this house serves as an uncommon example of a rural dwelling not attached to a farm but rather which was built for the use of a village carpenter.

Source: Heritage Places files, Dept of Fisheries, Tourism, Sport & Culture, Charlottetown, PE
File #: 4310-20/H31

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the house is shown in the following character-defining elements:

- the location of the house on its original footprint
- the exceptional preservation of the house
- the symmetrical design
- the long, sloping roof on the front elevation with curved bottom edge
- the half pillars sunk into the wall on the verandah
- the handmade front door with unusual mid-point ledge and unique rectangular panelling
- the pedimented cap on the roof above the front door with a flattened triangle theme
- the matching bay windows on the lower front elevation (9 over 9 main with 6 over 6 sides) with original woodworking in place
- the rare Scottish three-sided dormer on the front elevation with a double-hung 9 over 6 paned window and square fixed windows on either side
- the wood shingle cladding
- the distinctive flared walls on the east and west elevations between the first and second floors
- the full ornamentation of medallions (9) applied to the eaves on the east and west elevations
- the detailed spindle gingerbread at the peaks of the eaves (with incised four-leaf clovers) on the east and west elevations
- the wide eaves
- the hood covers on the doors and windows
- the small dormer in the bathroom above the kitchen ell

Further contributing character-defining elements:

- the location of the house within mature trees adjacent to a prominent corner in the community