On November 14th at 1pm Council will hear and decide on an Historic Designation for The Jubilee House, 6484 Jubilee. This hearing has been many years in coming and the stakes are high.

Please sign to support the designation to ensure The Jubilee House keeps its historic character for generations to come.

An historic home designation is one of the very few tools available in Halifax to somewhat protect properties that are of interest to the the public from destruction or drastic change. 

The designation doesn't do much but will give interested people a year to organize and act if a designated property becomes threatened. 

The Jubilee House, with its large corner lot, has been a prime target for land speculators and developers. 

With an historic designation, there is a better chance that the home will survive to define the character of the neighbourhood for many years to come, and inspire a sense of what beautiful homes can aspire to be in the future. 


From its twin gables to its stucco and half-timber design, The Jubilee House exemplifies a revival of the Tudor style of architecture popular during the late-15th and early-16th centuries in Britain; this style is known for its emphasis on privacy and domesticity with its many cozy rooms.

 

During this period, oak paneling and plaster ornaments defined the interior. The architect of this house, the late Graham Creighton, went one step further to ensure the finest quality. Instead of oak he used red birch, a very hard wood with a beautiful grain, giving the house a style all of its own. Much of the hardwood finish lumber for the home was said to have been shipped in from South America.

 

The house was built through 1920. It was built by William Sandford for Harry I. Mathers, the owner of a prominent shipping firm. Sandford's family moved to Nova Scotia from Boston with the "Planters" and settled near Pereaux, later moving to Halifax where they resided on Chestnut Street as neighbours of the Mathers.

 

Mr. Sandford's daughter, Helene, married the late professor, C.L. Bennet, a well-known Dalhousian and its long-time registrar.

 

The Mathers family played an important part in Nova Scotia history. Isaac H. Mathers was the first of his family to immigrate to Nova Scotia. Like the Sandfords, he came first to the United States and worked in the shipping industry in New York prior to coming to Halifax, where he established the firm of I.H. Mathers and Sons. In 1920 Harry I. Mathers succeeded his father in business, expanding the role of the company which continues to flourish to this day.

 

The Mathers moved into the house in 1921 and lived there until the 1940s, when it was purchased by Dr. Dyer and his family. About a decade later it was sold again, this time to two sisters, Grace Keith and Kathleen Moore, who were the nieces of longtime premier of Nova Scotia, the Honourable George B. Murray.

 

Miss Moore headed a large textile business in Portland, Oregon, and retired to live in Nova Scotia with Mrs. Keith and her two children, Kathleen "Boofie" and Sandy. The Keith forebears had come from Scotland in 1848 and established a furniture manufacturing business which exhibited at many European exhibitions.

 

Miss Moore and Mrs. Keith died within months of one another in 1976, leaving the house to Mrs. Keith's daughter, Boofie who lived there with her husband Sheldon P. Chisholm, Q.C., until Mr. Chisholm’s death in 1982. Mrs. Chisholm continued to occupy the house for another 25 years, often opening its doors for community and church events, along with charitable fundraisers. Through this time she also took in many borders who worked in the neighbourhood and downtown.

 

On Mrs. Chisholm’s death the home fell into disrepair and was sold to a developer who intended to tear it down and build a group of condos on the lot. Fearing the loss of this historic property, John Wesley Chisholm approached the developer and negotiated a deal to save the home. He bought the property in 2009 and set to work with historic renovation expert Hal Forbes on a plan to use the home’s original building documents to return it to its former glory. Within a year most of the basic restoration was complete.

 

Over the last 10 years John Wesley and his family have continued the fine tuning of the historic restoration and Boofie’s tradition of using the home for community meetings and charitable causes, most notably Hope For Wildlife fundraisers. In recent years, The Jubilee House has also become an early home in Halifax for refugee families from Ukraine and other troubled areas of the world.

 

Through the seasons The Jubilee House has become an iconic touchstone of this beautiful neighbourhood and a happy point of interest for those coming and going in the city.