Piece of Fredericton history for sale
Smyth House dates back to 1787, and the real-estate agent with the listing notes it’s one of the oldest homes in the city
There’s a prime piece of Fredericton real estate on the market right now - well priced, located right downtown - but it’s not new construction. It’s old – old, old construction.
Smyth House, located at 774 King St., is up for sale, and listing agent Anne Smith said its age and historic charm set it apart in the marketplace.
A plaque on the exterior of the heritage home notes it was first occupied in July 1787 by Mrs. Robert Smyth, and describes it as "one of Fredericton's earliest surviving houses."
The Canada’s Historic Places website notes the importance of the Smyth House as a heritage property is that it’s a prime example of “Loyalist vernacular architecture.”
“This 1½ -storey structure, known as a ‘Hall/Parlour House,’ is one of the earliest examples of a Loyalist dwelling,” the site states.
“It serves as an illustration of the basic needs that the Loyalists satisfied in housing design. The solid construction of the house clearly demonstrates the importance of function over elaborate form and style.”
The website also notes it was built to last, and the fact that it’s for sale as a home more than two centuries after its construction speaks to that.
Smyth House is a designated heritage property, and there are bylaws governing what can be done with such properties. But the realtor noted a buyer can still do plenty to make the historic house their own.
“Certainly, many citizens, me included, feel that we should cherish and preserve these lovely old homes,” Smith said Monday.
“There are challenges but in terms of renovations the interior can be updated without disturbing the exterior charm.”
She said the three-bedroom, two-bath home has several modern upgrades inside that will appeal to someone who wants touches of the contemporary along with the historic.
Jeremy Mouat, president of the Fredericton Heritage Trust, said he doesn’t see the heritage designation and rules as being factors that would put a potential buyer off.
“Well, presumably someone buying a home like 774 King St. is making the purchase because they want to live in a heritage home,” he said Monday.
“In terms of a heritage designation limiting what may be done with the building: well, balancing the rights of the property owner with what one might consider a public good is always going to be tricky. But the limitations are pretty modest, if you ask me.”
Smith said painstaking efforts have been made to ensure the 18th-century charm of the structure lives on.
“For example, the roof shingles were shipped from British Columbia to replicate the original roofing and respect the heritage aspect,” Smith wrote in an email to the Fredericton Independent.
The heritage trust’s website describes the home’s design and structural details, noting that like numerous homes in the downtown Fredericton plat, it boasts a fieldstone foundation.
It says it only has mortar in the upper few feet of that foundation, and the lower basement foundation is “loose-laid and permeable to allow water from the annual spring floods to run through.”
Smyth House is listed for sale at $349,000, and given the heat in the local real-estate market at the moment, the demand for homes and this one’s historic appeal, it seems priced to sell.
Based on the activity Smith’s office has seen thus far, that certainly seems to be the case.
“We already have a number of offers, and there should be an accepted one in place by Tuesday evening,” she said.
“A sold sign should follow within a few days.”
You can contact Don MacPherson at ftonindependent@gmail.com.
Wonder what the cost is to insure that house? Unfortunately, recent NB home insurance quotes for a somewhat similar family home in Miramichi, which also happens to have a heritage designation, were more than $5,000 dollars/year. That's more than double the property tax! Who can afford $430-$550/month for just home insurance? Sadly the high cost of insurance is a disincentive to preserve heritage homes. There is no protection against gouging by the insurance companies. So disheartening.
Speaking as someone who is passionate about history (and, especially, historic buildings), thank-you for this article.