Why Vote for Us? | Pourquoi voter pour nous ?
Your vote will help us finish a job that started in 2010 when we decided to save this incredibly important heritage building and repurpose it for community use. It hasn’t been easy. But in an economically challenged region with little experience in heritage preservation, an aging population, youth out-migration and a housing crisis, we knew this house is still viable and has too much potential for good to be destroyed. Like a sentinel at the top of the highest hill in Bathurst, it is a daily reminder of the city’s rich intercultural history and the Acadian, Irish and Scottish pioneers who built this community. Since 2010 our passionate, heritage advocates have worked tirelessly to save this house. We’ve accomplished a lot, but we still have a way to go. We’re dreaming big about its future place as a community hub for culture, arts and housing and your vote will make that happen.
Our Project's Impact | Les effets de notre projet
Winning the Next Great Save will help us complete the renovation and restoration of the historic Maison Doucet Hennessy House that began 15 years ago. It will allow us to open our doors year round for creative arts, culture and housing. We’ll provide nearly 5000 square feet of cultural space in a newly renovated heritage building for artists, educators, non-profit organizations and social enterprises to host events, workshops and performances and conduct business that meets our organization’s objectives. The house will include affordable housing units to meet identified local needs and utilize solar energy and energy-efficient heating, setting a publicly accessible example for sustainable heritage preservation in a city with little experience in this area. We’re partnering with the City of Bathurst, Province of New Brunswick and Government of Canada to make our dream a reality. We’re working with local businesses like Eddys, artists like David Scott, historians and cultural organizations like the Irish Cultural Association, along with bilingual volunteers from around the Chaleur Region, to make this vision a reality. With your vote, we can ensure the Maison Doucet Hennessy House becomes a space where people of all ages can learn, create, and connect. Winning the Next Great Save will help complete these renovations and ensure the house a vital part of Bathurst’s landscape for another century.
About This Place | À propos du lieu
The Maison Doucet Hennessy House is a cherished local historic site built by Charles Doucet, an enterprising Acadian refugee whose family established the first permanent European settlement at Nepisiguit (present-day Bathurst, New Brunswick) in 1781.
Nearly 250 years later, a dedicated group of built heritage advocates are giving the Maison Doucet Hennessy House new life as a mixed-use community cultural hub with opportunities for social enterprise, while transforming it into model of energy efficiency and housing.
The original homestead was built circa 1812 on a King George III land grant. Subsequent generations of Doucets raised and expanded the house to what we see today, a large, 2 1/2 story structure with stone foundation, mansard roof, windows, dormers and shingles. A staircase at the entry and framed window treatment around the front door and vestibule give this house a distinctive, stately appearance.
In the early 1900s, the house and 200 acres passed on to the Irish-Scottish Hennessys, who have a compelling immigrant story to tell of their own. Known locally as the Doucet Hennessy House, the building stands atop the highest peak of land in Bathurst and has commanding views of the harbour and basin.
In 2012, the site was purchased by the Maison Doucet Hennessy House Association, a non-profit, charitable organization. Numerous studies and reports by historians, architects and engineers have reaffirmed the building’s special place in Bathurst's history.
In the summer season, the organization offers employment and a broad variety of cultural programming including theatrical performances, artist residencies and exhibits, film screenings, music and historic presentations by writers, historians, genealogists and researchers.
Considerable volunteer effort has already gone into saving this historic place. Since 2020, it has undergone significant structural renovations, with Phase One repairs to the stone foundation, reinforcement of floors and walls with new posts and beams in the cellar, and strengthening of
the attic with custom made cables, truss and boards. Also included in Phase One were repairs to the vestibule and exterior shingles, new steps and improved soil drainage. The house exterior was also completely repainted, restoring its stately appearance on the city landscape.
The Association is currently in Phase Two with new walls, ceilings, electrical and plumbing, as well as an accessible washroom on the first floor. Plans to develop the rest of the building for social enterprise and two housing units aimed at low to moderate income earners are its priority now, along with a focus on solar energy to improve energy efficiency and reduce its carbon footprint.
Fundraising is always an issue, but even more so since COVID with fierce competition for donations in a small community facing its own challenges. That’s why the Next Great Save is SO IMPORTANT to the Maison Doucet Hennessy House Association.
Now, more than ever, winning the Next Great Save will allow the Association to secure additional funding and get the job done!
