Province Announces Funding for Perkins House Museum

The province is investing to repair and reopen Perkins House Museum, a provincially registered heritage property and one of the oldest buildings in the Nova Scotia Museum collection.

Premier Stephen McNeil made the announcement today, April 23, at the Queens County Museum.

"The Perkins House Museum is a significant part of the province’s heritage,” said Premier McNeil. "Preserving a building that is rich in culture provides the community a place to come together to proudly tell their stories and pass them down to future generations."

Recent estimates put the cost of the renovations in the $1 million to $1.5 million dollar range.

Initial design work will start within the next month, with renovations beginning later this year. Perkins House is expected to reopen in summer 2018.

Built in 1766 with unique construction methods, Perkins House is one of the few remaining types of its style in Canada.

The Simeon Perkins diary, which details the house, as well as the lives of the people living in it and in the community from 1766 to 1812, adds to the importance of the house as an illustration of an early part of Nova Scotia history.

“Today’s announcement was music to our ears,” said Linda Rafuse, director of Queens County Museum and Perkins House. “Nova Scotia Museum sites are symbols of our past glory and grandeur. Simeon Perkins and his house are part of our national heritage, both priceless records of our history. This is a good day for Perkins House.”

Historic houses provide hands-on learning experiences and help to educate students, researchers and the public by providing venues that enliven history, social studies, geography, civics and other subjects.

Excellence in cultural stewardship is a key theme of the province’s culture strategy, Nova Scotia's Culture Action Plan. The full plan is online at http://novascotia.ca/culture.