7 Main Street

STREET ADDRESS: 7 Main Street

CITY/TOWN/VILLAGE:Yarmouth

MUNICIPALITY:Yarmouth

COUNTY:Yarmouth

YEAR BUILT: 1802-1805

ARCHITECTURAL COMMENT:

The basic structure of this house is Vernacular in style with added features which make it look Victorian. This is a one and a half storey house of mainly wood construction. The symmetrical five bay facade has a centered doorway in an enclosed porch. The medium pitched gable roof has non-return eaves and one large, inset chimney. A flat tower, which appears to be a later addition, cuts into the eaveline of the facade. The entablatures above its rounded windows are supported by decorative brackets. The same brackets are found along the eaveline of the tower roof. A balustrade runs along the top of the tower. The windows of the main structure are six over six double hung with slanted hoods above. The house is clad in narrow wooden clapboards with narrow cornerboards and a wide frieze.

HISTORICAL COMMENT:

This lot of land was originally owned by Phineas Durkee who, when the township lands were divided in 1767, was allotted one and one-half shares or 1335 acres. In 1796 Phineas Durkee sold this lot of land to his daughter Eleanor Dalton. Eleanor had come to Yarmouth with her parents from Massachusetts at a young age. At the age of seventeen years Eleanor had a daughter named Hannah whose father was Joseph Jay. Sometime after Hannah's birth Eleanor married Thomas Dalton and had a son by him also named Thomas. Hannah married William Brown and Thomas married Elizabeth Poole. Thomas Dalton (Sr.) died and Eleanor remarried to Nathaniel Ricker.

In 1802 Nathaniel and Eleanor Ricker conveyed this property to Eleanor's son Thomas Dalton and it appears to have been Thomas who built this house between that time and his death in January of 1805. Although Thomas Dalton died intestate, administration of his estate was made in 1809 and the inventory of his property includes a house, barn and three acres of land valued at 130 pounds. It is uncertain who, if anyone resided in the house during these few years or who was legally entitled to it (one would assume his widow) but in 1810 we see his family settling the estate through deeds. Thomas' widow Elizabeth had, by-this time, remarried to Benjamin Lewis. On January 22, 1810 Benjamin and Eliza Lewis conveyed an undivided two thirds of the property to Nathaniel Ricker. On the same day Nathaniel and Eleanor Ricker conveyed an undivided one third to Benjamin and Eliza Lewis.

The house was owned and conveyed in two undivided sections until about 1820 when Joseph T. Archer came into possession of both sections. Joseph Archer, a mason by profession was married to Eleanor Durkee the daughter of Eleanor (Dalton) Ricker's brother, Stephen. Joseph T. and Eleanor Archer had nine children all of whom would have been young or not yet born when the Archers purchased this house.

Lawson tells of a fire which occurred here in the early morning of May 15, 1880. The house and barn of Benjamin Crosby which were located just a few feet to the south of this house were completely destroyed. It was feared that this house would also be destroyed and the furniture was removed. It was saved, however, with very little damage.

The house was owned for two years by Mrs. Ada Byron Fraser, a widow, before being purchased by Samuel Hatfield's brother, Jacob Kelley Hatfield. Jacob K. Hatfield is listed residing here on the 1890 directory. Captain Jacob K. Hatfield was born 16th June 1823 the eldest of a family of seven sons, all of whom became successful shipmasters. He was master for some years of a Clipper Passenger Ship plying between England and Australia. Prominent in political matters he became a candidate in the election for the House of Commons in 1887 but lost. Captain J.K. Hatfield died in Yarmouth on December 28, 1903 at the age of eighty.

In 1892 the house was sold by Captain J.K. Hatfield to Captain Ellery Scott. He resided here until his death in 1923 and the house was owned by his family until 1965. It is still known today by many Yarmouthians as "the Ellery Scott House". Captain Scott was the son of Captain Amos Scott. At a very young age he went to sea and while still a teenager he was made an officer. He then obtained his Master's certificate and sailed for various Yarmouth shipping concerns. Among his commands were the ship Nettie Murphy and the Bark Autocrat. At about the time he purchased this house he retired from the sea and established himself in the milk business. The 1895 directory lists Captain Ellery Scott, farmer and milkman, at this site.

Some years later Captain Scott returned to the sea and entered the employ of the Quebec Steamship Co. in New York. At the time of the Mount Pelee eruption and the destruction of Martinique, he was first officer of the steamer Roraima, and was one of the few who escaped alive from the disaster.

In recent years the house has had various owners. In the summer of 1991 foreclosure was made on the property and it was sold by Sheriff's deed to Central Guaranty Trust Co. The house is currently up for sale and has been vacant for about a year.

CONTEXTUAL COMMENT:

Situated on a small hill back from the road, this house sits on its original site on the east side of Main Street overlooking the harbour. To the north and rear of the house is the Yarmouth Golf Course formerly Tooker's Farm. Known today as the "Ellery Scott House" this home is a prominent feature of this area of Yarmouth.

PRESENT OWNER:Claude/Macy Pelletier

ADDRESS:7 Main Street, Yarmouth, N.S., B5A 1A1

ORIGINAL OWNER: Thomas Dalton

OCCUPATION: Mariner

BUILDER: Unknown

ORIGINAL USE: Residential (Single family)

PRESENT USE: Single family dwelling

SOURCES:Registry of Deeds/Probate (Yarmouth); Interview with Mr. Edgar Fevens (1987); Yarmouth Past & Present, Lawson p. 339; Sweeny's Funeral Home Ledgers (p. 96 bk. 04); The Yarmouth Herald (Dec. 29, 1903); The Yarmouth Herald (July 10, 1923); A.F. Church Map (1870); Yarmouth Directories (1890)(1895)(1949); Doane's Geneologies (Bk. 1 p. 35a)(Bk. 7 p.5) (Bk. 4 p.8)(Bk. 1 p.119); The Durkee Family Newsletter (Vol. II No. 1 p.5)