John William Caines House Registered Heritage Structure

John William Caines House has been designated a Registered Heritage Structure by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador due to its aesthetic and cultural value.

The John William Caines House has aesthetic value as a good example of a type of house built by the merchant class in a small outport at the end of the 19th century. The scale and style of the house are indicators of the status of the owners. Vernacular in design, the house features elements of the biscuit box style, including the low pitched roof and three bay spatial division on the main façade. Elements such as the two-storey, three-sided bay window on the left end of the front façade, the two double French garden doors on the left façade and the original open porch with ornate decorative elements, distinguish the house from others of plain biscuit box design.

The John William Caines House has historical value due to its age. Built in the last decade of the 1800s, it is among the oldest buildings in the region. It has further historic value due to its association with the merchant class in small outports. The home was built for John William Caines, who operated a general store in the community of Norris Point. Businessmen like Caines provided an essential service to small, often isolated communities who relied on the goods provided by such entrepreneurs.