Ross Thomson House

Ross-Thomson House is valued as the oldest existing store in Shelburne and Nova Scotia. It is also valued for its virtually unaltered exterior and interior which reflect the building's original uses as a store and residence since its construction in 1787. Ross-Thomson House is also valued for it association with Shelburne’s Loyalist history. It was built between 1785 and 1786 by brothers George and Robert Ross who came to Shelburne to escape the American Revolution, as did many of Shelburne’s earliest settlers. The brothers operated an international trading business, ran a small store for local residents, and lived in the residential rear section of the building. In 1815 the building was sold to the brothers' former clerk Robert Thomson whose son Robert Ross Thomson continued to operate the store until his death in 1880. Robert Ross Thomson served for a time as Shelburne’s post master and the post office was located in the store. He also was a lieutenant-colonel of the local militia in the late 1860s, during the Fenian raids, and the room above the store was used at that time as the militia room. The building is currently operated as a museum.