STREET ADDRESS: 1 Sycamore Street
CITY/TOWN/VILLAGE: Yarmouth
MUNICIPALITY: Yarmouth
COUNTY: Yarmouth
YEAR BUILT: circa 1843
ARCHITECTURAL COMMENT:
1½ storey Vernacular style with a lower 1½ storey off-center ell at back. Medium pitched gable roof has symmetrically and discretely placed inset chimneys, a centered gable roofed front wall dormer flanked by cantilevered, hip roofed Scotch dormers, ell has an off center chimney. The symmetrical 5-bay facade has a center entrance with wide casings and sidelights, concrete steps and open stoop with wrought railings. Windows have double hung sashes and 6/6 glazing; south side of ell has a paired window. Wood construction, shingle clad, corner and verge-board trim.
HISTORICAL COMMENT:
Probably built around 1843 by Nathan and Robert D. Butler for Thomas V. B. Bingay. The Butlers sold the land to Bingay, who seems to have had the house built to sell, since he already had a fairly new residence nearby. Bingay was the founder of the legal firm of T.V.B. Bingay & Sons, who carried on business in Yarmouth for many years.
CONTEXTUAL COMMENT:
North east corner of Church and Sycamore Streets, set well back from road. Entrance portico removed; decorative brackets removed from under cantilevered dormers; one chimney removed; crown removed from wall dormer window; entire house raised two feet in 1911. Landmark site: Yarmouth first general hospital.
PRESENT OWNER: Richard Pothier/Rosemary Guyette
ADDRESS: 1 Sycamore Street, Yarmouth, N.S., B5A 1N9
ORIGINAL OWNER: Thomas Van Buskirk Bingay
OCCUPATION: Barrister/Broker
BUILDER: Probably Robert D. & Nathan Butler
ORIGINAL USE: Single family dwelling
PRESENT USE: Single family dwelling
| HISTORY OF BUILDING | ||||
| OWNER | FROM: | TO: | OCCUPATION | BOOK PG |
| Thomas V. B. Bingay | Jan. 2, 1843 |
June 5, 1852 | Barrister/Broker | Y 229 |
| Charles Bridgman Owen | June 5, 1852 | Oct. 21, 1878 | Barrister/Notary | AD 177 |
| Laura C. Owen Greggs L. Farish | Oct. 21, 1878 | Sept. 6, 1879 | Admrs. - Estate of C.B Owen | Estate #3963 |
| John W. H. Rowley | Sept. 6, 1879 | May 1, 1882 | Agent - Dom. Savings Bank | BF 689 |
| Joseph R. Rogers | May 1, 1882 | Aug. 16, 1888 | Merchant | BP 314 |
| Thomas B. Flint | Aug. 16, 1888 | Aug. 27, 1889 | Solicitor/Trustee | BQ 151 |
| The Bank of Yarmouth | Aug. 27, 1889 | Oct. 27, 1892 | ----------------- | BS 433 |
| Jacob Bingay | Oct. 27, 1892 | Mar. 23, 1911 | Shipowner | BW 206 |
| Yarmouth Hospital Society | Mar. 23, 1911 | Aug. 8, 1917 | ----------------- | CZ 398 |
| Nettie Shapiro Elizabeth Smofsky | Aug. 8, 1917 | Oct. 10, 1918 | Married Woman | DI 479 |
| Elizabeth Smofsky | Oct. 10, 1918 | July 4, 1922 | Married Woman | DL 227 |
| Sheila Smofsky | July 4, 1922 | June 7, 1927 | Married Woman | DW 497 |
| Elizabeth H. Allen | June 7, 1927 | Oct 1, 1930 | Married Woman | DX 530 |
| Willard F. Allen | Oct. 1, 1930 | May 12, 1991 | Purser | EB 480 |
| Central Guaranty Trust Co. | May 12, 1991 | Dec. 2, 1991 | Execs. / Trustees of W. F. Allen | Estate #A1319 |
| Evelyne Edith Hamm | Dec. 2, 1991 | July 5, 1995 | Retired Housekeeper | 493 604 |
| R.A. Pother/R. L. Guyette | July 5, 1995 | Present | Nurse/Journalist | 533 452 |
COMMENTS ON HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS:
On October 24, 1907, Mayor Samuel C. Hood called a meeting of Yarmouth doctors to discuss the ways and means of providing a hospital for the Town of Yarmouth. At this meeting it was agreed that an organized committee of ladies be formed to collect funds and that it would be called the "Yarmouth Hospital Society." By July 22, 1908, the Act of Incorporation, Constitution and By-laws were duly approved and enacted, and the search for a suitable site and fund rasing efforts were well under way. By October of 1910, it seemed impossible to raise enough money to build a new hospital. Jacob Bingay had offered this house as a site, and after much deliberation, it was decided to accept his offer. The property was deeded to the Yarmouth Hospital Society in March 1911, and necessary repairs and renovations commenced. The building was raised two feet, painted inside and out, wired, plumbed, steam heated, and hardwood floors installed, and other needed changes made. Miss Mary A. Watson was retained as Superintendent and the 8 bed hospital officially opened on March 15, 1912. Due to its limited space, the faculty was only able to serve as a hospital for four years and when a new hospital was built in 1916, this building was converted back to a private residence.
SOURCES: Registry of Deeds/Probate; Yarmouth Town Directories, 1890, 1895, 1949; Yarmouth Reminiscences, Lawson (1902); N.S. Directories, 1868-69, 1871, 1907-08; Yarmouth Tribune, 23 Oct. 1878; Minutes, Yarmouth Medical Society, 1907-13; History of Yarmouth School of Nursing; Yarmouth Times, Mar. 12, 1912, Feb. 28, 1913.