Aubrey and Elizabeth Crowley Property

The Aubrey and Elizabeth Crowley Property has been designated a registered heritage property because of its architectural, historical and social values.

The Aubrey and Elizabeth property is an excellent example of an early 20th century outport dwelling, comprised of simple building forms and multiple outbuildings. Located on the edge of the water, this two-storey biscuit box style house consists of a low pitched roof and single hung rectangular windows. Designed using the typical Georgian hall-and-parlour plan, the house has four rooms on each level with a central hallway, which is reflected through the symmetry on the main façade. The associated outbuildings, consisting of a stable, a sizable root cellar and garage, all blend in with the style of the house in regards to exterior colour and detailing.

The Aubrey and Elizabeth Crowley property is historically significant in the fact that it reflects a way of life that was once common place in Newfoundland outports. With its agricultural land and outbuildings, this property illustrates the broad settlement pattern of the North Shore of Conception Bay in the late 19th and early 20th century, that of families which derived their living from the sea but whom also maintained substantial subsistence gardens and farm animals.

For the community of Ochre Pit Cove, this house has value because it was the home of John J. (Jack) Crowley, a well respected member of the community. As a schoolteacher and principal, returning officer, and commissioner of oaths and marriages, Jack was a trusted man to whom people turned to for help with tax returns and other official business.