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Old Sydney Society
Please click on the above image to enlarge it THE JOST HOUSE 54 Charlotte
Street, Sydney,
 Summer Hours Until recently, few would have considered North End Sydney a colonial town. Yet such is the case in the neighbourhood where six buildings constructed in the late 18th century and another two from the turn of the 19th century stand. Few cities in North America can boast eight buildings erected between 1785 and 1802 within a two block radius. In 1785, the newly appointed Governor Joseph Frederick Wallet DesBarres landed at Spanish Bay (Sydney Harbour) to establish the settlement named by him in honour of the Secretary of State, Lord Sydney. DesBarres had the town laid out by military engineers and the building of houses immediately commenced, together with barracks for six companies of the 33rd Regiment. Sydney remained the capital of the Colony of Cape Breton from 1785 until it was annexed to mainland Nova Scotia in 1820. After the union, property values declined, but Sydney experienced moderate growth throughout the better part of the 19th century. Incorporated in 1904, the new City of Sydney grew up around the older Colonial Town. It is typical in the North End to find houses from the early and mid 1900's standing alongside buildings dating from colonial days. The Jost House is one of the oldest remaining wooden buildings in Colonial Sydney. The buildings illustrates an important local theme of change in Sydney's historic North End; an evolution from commercial use to commercial/residential and then to purely residential use. Samuel Sparrow, merchant and ship owner possessed the property from 1786 to 1787. The basement has been restored to his original 18th century kitchen with a cooking fireplace, a separate beehive bake-oven and an overhead ceiling plastered between the supporting beams. The museum collects historical artifacts for this area and research on the Sparrow era in the house and on his relationship with Governor DesBarres is continuous. Thomas Jost, a Halifax merchant, bought the property in 1836 and his descendents remained there until 1971. Historical Victorian artifacts for the ground floor bedroom, parlour, dining room and store (until 1853) are being collected. In the early 1900's the roof was raised and the second floor extended to include bedrooms and bath. Here the museum exhibits collections of local Cape Breton interest, which includes an apothecary that preserves an assortment of medicinals used in the early 20th century. A display of apparatus and utensils used in the compounding of prescriptions also form part of this exhibit. Interest runs high at times when live "on the site" demonstrations take place! The Marine Room reflects our maritime past with a display of historical text and a collection of models of vessels, which includes the Newfoundland Ferry Caribou. The Jost House Gift Shop is tucked in the corner of the entrance of 54 Charlotte St., Sydney. It is in the original location of what has always been a house of commerce. Our wares consist of small antiques and collectibles; a line of Jost House souvenir English bone china; authentic 18th century clay pipe reproductions by local artist Stephen Bray; and a stationary line of Hasty Notes, framed prints, calendars, and, of course, postcards. Our new addition this year will be local jambs and jellies made from native berries and maple sugar products.
EXTERNAL LINKS
For more information:The Jost House |
