The Mounce House
Built 1910
The Township of Newport was created in 1761 by Royal grant.
Most of the families who came to Newport were from Rhode
Island. One of the original grantees was James Mosher.
The Moshers and Mounces were well connected through
marriage and numerous business ventures.
Lydia Mosher, a granddaughter of James married Richard
Mounce of England in 1817. They had three children,
William, Mary Ann, and George.
During the 1800’s Newport was an active and important
shipbuilding centre. Newport (Avondale) ships sailed all
over the world, and were well known in every port for over
100 years. Both George and William were involved in the
shipping industry. Capt. George was a Master Mariner,
sailing ships all over the world. William was a ship’s
carpenter. Both were ship owners and were partners in some
ships built in Avondale by the Mosher shipyard.
Thomas A. Mounce, a son of Capt. George, was born in 1877
and graduated form the Halifax Commercial College in 1895.
He married Annie Mosher in 1909. They travelled around the
world on their honeymoon, sending back many pieces of
furniture and other decorations for their new house
constructed in 1910. Annie died five years later and
Thomas Mounce remained in the home till his death in 1960.
The house remained vacant for some twenty-six years until
it was acquired in 1986 by Kenneth M. Mounce, a great
grandson of William, and direct descendent of James Mosher.
In restoring and refurbishing the house, considerable
effort was made to protect the detail of the original
design. The interior painting restoration, done by Mr.
Gillott of Scotch Village, was completed over a period of
six months. All rooms (with the exception of the kitchen)
were restored in precisely the same colors and patterns as
the original. The carpentry requirements were completed by
Tom and Neil Robarts af Avondale, NS. The plumbing and
heating contractor and the electrical modifications were
made by J.A. MacAskill and Lloyd Matheson, both of
Falmouth. Other tradesmen who assisted in the restoration
all came from Hants County.
The house was originally constructed by Robert H. Canavan,
General Contractor, Windsor, NS. The Silliker Car Company
of Halifax, NS was the woodworker. Most of the interior
wood is American gartered oak supplied by the Waddell
Manufacturing Company of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The entrance foyer features fancy bevelled glass with lead
beading. The Queen Anne reception area features hand
carved oak newel post and stairwell, and oak panelled
ceiling. The interior hand carved column tops match the
column tops on the exterior veranda of the house.
The front parlour is decorated with painted walls and
stucco ceilings (oil on plaster), stained glass windows,
curved windows, and curved radiator. The back parlour is
similarly decorated. The dining room features total oak
panelling, plate ledge, carved fireplace, built-in china
cabinet and Tiffany lamp.
The den features oak panelling ceilings, stained glass, and
curved window. The walls are covered with stencilled oil
paint on plaster and wallpaper depicting an early hunt
scene. The wallpaper was probably supplied by the Alfred
Peats Company of Boston.
Of the five bedrooms on the second floor, three are
especially decorated with oil paint on plaster. All
decorative painting in the house was done by George Lyons,
who had a considerable reputation for his painting talents.
The front northwest bedroom has a curved window with
stained glass, and a pedestal wash basin. The walls and
ceiling are free hand painted. The front northeast bedroom
has a curved window with stained glass. The pink walls are
oil paint on plaster, with the ceiling having 310 green
leaves painted on white linen wallpaper. All painting is
free hand. The blue bedroom is oil paint on plaster with
the ceiling featuring 22 painted flowers, again, all done
free hand.
The main bathroom has stencilled and free hand wall
painting, oil on plaster, white ceramic tile, oak trim, and
a special sink designed for the care of teeth. The
bathroom paint work is original.
The house was wired for 150 lights, and electrical
generation produced on the property was designed by the
Willard Storage Battery Company of Ottawa, ON. The house
features four fireplaces, hardwood floors throughout,
interior window shutters by Rhodes Curry Company of
Amherst, NS, and hot water heating.
The basement is constructed with hand cut sandstone shipped
from Wallace, Cumberland County, and contains a 8000 gallon
water cistern.
The house is Victorian in design.
Pat and Ken Mounce
June, 1988