The Kirkham House

The house is designed in the Island Ell or gable ell style. It is located in a rural setting within 200 metres of the Mill River on Fortune Cove Road. A decorative verandah with turned posts and brackets fronts the gable side of the house. The registration includes the house and its lot.

The home is valued for its association with the Leard family of Fortune Cove; for its Island Ell style; and for its contribution to the rural landscape of the area.

James Young Leard (1848-1910) built the house as his residence in the late 1890s. He was a noted carpenter having also constructed other homes in the area. James was the first member of the Leard family to settle in the community. Socially, he was active in the Cascumpec Methodist (later United) Church, where he was choir director and Sunday school leader.

James' son, Russell Leard (1882-1978), inherited the farm and became a lay preacher in the Cascumpec church. His son, William Godfrey Leard (1921-1944), was killed in an air crash in Labrador during WW II. Another son became Rev. George Earl Leard, a minister in the United Church of Canada. A third son, Gordon Russell Leard, lived on the property until 1988, when the current owners purchased it.

The home retains many of its original elements including the fenestration of the windows with hood mouldings and the verandah with turned posts. The property remains an asset to the area.

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

File #: 4310-20/A24

Character-defining elements which reflect the gable ell heritage value of the house include:

- the two-storey wood frame construction

- the Island Ell style

- the gable rooflines

- the brick chimney

- the fenestration of the windows and doors

- the hood moulding

- the verandah with turned posts and brackets