Exterior of Newbury Farm House, 2005
Photo: City of Nanaimo, Christine Meutzner, 2005
- Built
- 1918
- Recognized
- 2002
- By
- Local government
The register’s text, word for word
Description
The Newbury Farm House is a one and one-half storey Craftsman bungalow located in one of Nanaimo's oldest neighbourhoods. The historic place is confined to the building footprint.
Heritage value
The Newbury Farm House is significant because it speaks to the direct role local coal companies played in shaping the physical and social development of the Nanaimo area. In 1884, Samuel Robins, the Superintendent of the Vancouver Coal Mining and Land Company, purchased Harewood Estates, a large parcel of land between Nanaimo and the base of Mount Benson. Robins subdivided the area into 'Five Acre' Farms and made them available to mining families at affordable prices. Robins envisioned farming as a way for miners to provide for themselves whenever coal markets were depressed. The experience of William Newbury, who built this home, illustrates Robins' concept in application. William Newbury and his son were alternately miners and nurserymen, at one time operating a florist shop in downtown Nanaimo.
Built around 1918, the Newbury Farm House is a substantially intact, very good example of a Craftsman bungalow. The Newbury Farm House has many of the features typical of this style including the front gable roof, dormers, inset corner porch and wooden siding.
SourceCity of Nanaimo, Development Services Department
Character‑defining elements
The character-defining elements of the Newbury Farm House include:
- all of the elements of the Craftsman bungalow style as expressed in the simple form, horizontal, lapped wooden siding, inset corner porch with square columns, multi-paned wooden sash windows, scroll cut vergeboards and triangular eave brackets.
- the building's location in one of Nanaimo's oldest neighbourhoods.
End of the register’s text
Location
678 Second Street, Nanaimo, British Columbia, V9R, Canada
49.16680° N, 123.95980° W
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From the Canadian Register of Historic Places, as last updated on December 12, 2025. The register’s text is shown word for word.