School Street House

Accommodation in Charlottetown - Canada

Email School Street House Reservations: bookcanada@madbookings.com

Dream of going back in time? Come stay at School Street House, a historic three bedroom holiday home that feels just like your favourite Aunt’s place! Having a house all to yourself is perfect for folks who prefer their own special spot. As a member of the Community Museums Association of PEI, School Street House (c.1874) is a genuine old-time dwelling steeped in history and essentially untouched since the turn of the last century.The furnishings and floorings date between 1900-1960. In addition to the vast array of historic photographs and documents, the house has many other vintage treasures such as a 1936 model Hammond BC organ with a Leslie 125 for music enthusiasts.

School Street House is the 1904 birthplace and childhood home of world-renowned marine biologist Dr. Constance MacFarlane. Dr. MacFarlane is credited with putting PEI on the map as the Irish Moss capital of the world.

School Street House Accommodation

Fully equipped and serviced, School Street House has all the necessities plus wireless high-speed internet connection, on-site laundry facilities, tv/dvd, stereo, record player, barbeque, private treed yard, parking, handy location, house/groundskeeping service and 24 hour staffing as required.

Front Bedroom
The Front Bedroom has a queen size bed, wardrobe and antique gentlemen's chest.
The floor is original 1957 Rexoleum.

Middle Bedroom
The Middle Bedroom has a single bed and spare cot, if necessary. Contains a waterfall chest of drawers.

Back Bedroom
The Back Bedroom has an old time double bed suitable for one large adult or two children (or smaller adults.) Contains a wardrobe and chest of drawers.

Bathroom
The Washroom is a four piece. Claw foot bathtub and pedestal sink are the originals.

Foyer
The Foyer is where you are greeted by "The Wellington," an original desk from the Wellington Railway Station in West Prince County, Prince Edward Island. The woodwork with original graining was very likely done by resident neighbourhood grainers, the Howatts. The floors are Island Spruce with original finish dating back to the early 1900s.

Living Room
The Livingroom is home to a vintage 1930's Hammond Organ (BC Model) and his trusty partner, the Leslie Speaker. A place to relax and enjoy each other's company.

Dining Room
A formal Diningroom provides an elegant setting to enjoy a wonderful east coast meal. The beautifully patterned Quaker rug is a real find from the 1920s and is a perfect complement to the original Island Spruce floors.

The Kitchen
You step way back in time when you enter this Kitchen with an adjoining old-fashioned pantry. The electric stove only arrived in 2005 and is the first one of it's kind in the house. Before that, the folks cooked on an old oil stove and before that, a woodstove.

Open year round. Weekly rates and three night specials available. Strictly non-smoking. Sorry no pets. No exceptions.

Central Access to Everywhere
Happily situated downtown Charlottetown, School Street House is just a skip away from everything including theatres, galleries, historic sites, churches, repertoire cinema, shops, restaurants, seafood pound, farmer's market, parks, harbour and trails yet it's only a 5 minute hop in the car to the golf course, 15 minutes to the beach and 25 minutes to Anne of Green Gables House!
Being based in the Province's capital makes for easy day trips to all parts of the beautiful Province of Prince Edward Island.

Big History of the Little House
Much of this information was derived from the Land Registry Office, PEI Public Archives, Island Register, University of Prince Edward Island and personal interviews with long time residents, friends and family.

Since 1874, the Chain of Title of School Street House (#54) has included the following names -- Peter Desbrisay, Francis S. Chandler, Solomon Champion, Henry H. McFarlane, David & Vesta Brown, Alfred T. Bradshaw, Vernon J. & Josie Mae Howatt, Vera & Kathleen Wisener and currently the Barnes'. .......

Signatures Reveal Birthplace of World-Renowned Marine Biologist
Children's signatures discovered on an old plaster wall behind a hundred years of paint and wallpaper reveal the birthplace and childhood home of world renowned scientist, Dr. Constance Ida MacFarlane.

During the restoration of Charlottetown's historic guest home School Street House, the signatures of Miss MacFarlane and her sister were discovered almost a century after they were written. Dr. MacFarlane was born in 1904 and became an esteemed Marine Botanist, instrumental in the evolution of the Irish moss industry and a scientist well before her time.

Dr Irene Novaczek, Marine Botanist & Director of the Institute of Island Studies, University of Prince Edward Island describes the significance of Dr. MacFarlane's work by saying, In an era in which most women confined their interests to home and family, Connie MacFarlane distinguished herself by not only completing university studies in botany, but by going on to engage in scientific research which helped lay the basis for the discipline of marine botany in Eastern Canada.

Throughout her long and active career, she documented the extent of commercially valuable seaplants such as Irish moss, and promoted their use for food and other applications, helping to put Miminegash PEI on the map as the "Irish moss capital of the world."

Irish moss is a major source of carrageenan, commonly used as a thickener and stabilizer in processed foods and products, including ice cream, beer, wine and toothpaste.

Dr. Constance Ida MacFarlane was born in Charlottetown, PEI in 1904. After graduating from Prince of Wales College in 1924, Dalhousie University (BA, 1929, M.Sc. 1931), she did post-graduate studies on marine algae at the University of Liverpool, England. From 1949-1970, Miss MacFarlane was Director of the Seaweeds Division of the Nova Scotia Research Foundation.

She was internationally recognized for her research into the ecology and distribution of seaweeds, which was fundamental to the industrial development of seaweed in the Atlantic Provinces. Seaweed, for Miss MacFarlane, was more than an academic fascination. Her hobby was collecting seaweed from around the world. She bequeathed her huge collection of dry plants specimens to the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History in Halifax, her research and papers have gone to the Nova Scotia Archives.

Throughout her career, Miss MacFarlane considered herself primarily a teacher, whether her students were in school, fishermen, harvesters, government officials, lawyers or industrialists. She wrote, "...as in the way with teaching, I also learned much from my students particularly the fishermen who, of necessity, are resourceful people."

Dr. MacFarlane established several awards at the University of Prince Edward Island through her estate two of which are dedicated to the memory of her father, Henry Havelock MacFarlane. Through the scholarships, the MacFarlane family wished to acknowledge a spirit of service and dedication, both to her Island heritage and her lifelong career in the botanical sciences.

Email School Street House Reservations: bookcanada@madbookings.com