Carter W. Jeffery Home

The home is valued for its Cross-Gable architectural style and for its association with the development of electricity in Hunter River.

According to Meacham's 1880 Atlas, the land on which the house stands was then owned by James Patterson (1853-1942), a prominent mill owner and resident of Hunter River. He would begin one of the area's first hydro electric plants.

The first electric plant had been established in Hunter River in 1917. It was operated by Dan M. MacLeod. It provided electricity to his home, undertaking business and mercantile store - as well as the stores of three other merchants. By May 1919, other citizens banded together to create the Hunter River Hydro Electric Company - with Patterson's grist mill as the location for the new generating plant. This was the operation which would be purchased by Lefuta Wood, who then resided in this house.

It is estimated the house was constructed around 1905. On September 8, 1920, Patterson sold the mill and electric plant to Lefuta Wood who operated it until he sold it to the Maritime Electric Company on April 15, 1938.

When Wood died in 1942, the property was then sold to George Earl Smith (1898-1992), a local blacksmith, who would reside here from 1947 to 1985. He had a blacksmith shop next door to the house. The current owner purchased it in 1996 and operates a drafting business from the premises.

The Cross-Gable style of the house is unusual in PEI architecture. The style is defined by the four gables of equal pitch whose rooflines intersect at the centre of the house. In its history, the house has undergone several exterior changes. In 1934, a second storey was added and the current owner has added several renovations since 1996.

Source: Culture and Heritage Division, PEI Department of Communities, Cultural Affairs and Labour, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8

File #: 4310-20/H12