Preserving the Past: How Newfoundland’s Heritage Grants Help Keep History Alive

Heritage houses are more than a peek through the window of time—they're watchkeepers of our past, where history surrounds you in every crack and corner, jumping to life the minute you walk in.

Heritage NL issued $100,000 in restoration grants for six Registered Heritage Structures across Newfoundland and Labrador this spring. It sounds like a report from the construction site, but take a second look—it's a story of how place, memory, and craft come together to preserve the very heart of this province.

These buildings are more than simple brick and timber; they range from churches to beaches to saltboxes and former merchant residences. Tradition, family, and turning-point time capsules shape Newfoundland's identity.

Six Sites, Endless Stories

Six of these buildings are stabilized: the Drake House Museum in Arnold's Cove, the Devon House in downtown St. John's, the Butler Property in Cupids, St. Paul's Anglican Church in Trinity, Our Lady of Mercy Museum in Port au Port West, and the Sexton/Wilansky House, again in Trinity.

Everyone is getting extra TLC—from restoring historic windows and repairing storm damage to breathing new life into vintage clapboard siding and delicate trim. At its surface, it's a preservation initiative—keeping living history alive.

The Drake House, for example, is a tale of resettlement and community disruption in Newfoundland after the war. Devon House is the cornerstone of St. John's art world, having served as a residence to artists-in-residence from around the globe. St. Paul's Church, Trinity, with its commanding silhouette, has been a spiritual and photographic anchor for over a century.

Who Lived There?

Every one of these structures once housed regular folks with extraordinary ties to their communities. Merchants, clergy, fishermen, teachers, artists—you can see echoes of them all in these walls. Their stories aren't in old files—they're in the groan of a floorboard, the meticulous sweep of a handmade window, or the church pews worn smooth by the hands of generations of the faithful.

Take the Butler Property in Cupids, for instance. People living there were among the earliest settlers on the English Shore of the island, raised in a town built around coastal trade and agriculture. The Sexton/Wilansky House whispers secrets of Jewish merchants who long ago shaped Trinity's economic and cultural heritage.

What Makes a Building "Heritage"?

To qualify as a Registered Heritage Structure with Heritage NL, a building must be a standout example of an architectural style, maintain its original character, and occupy a key position in the province's history or culture.

This can range from downtown St. John's Victorian merchant houses to plain fish stages and remote lighthouses. Proprietors must demonstrate that the house is in good condition, possesses genuine character, and is placed within Newfoundland and Labrador's broader history. Once approved, they can receive funding, technical support, and a commemorative plaque—but most importantly of all, they become known as provincial identity guardians.

How Many Are There?

Today, there are over 300 Registered Heritage Structures in Newfoundland and Labrador. That doesn't include the 47 federally designated National Historic Sites or several other homes and buildings that contain lesser-known but no less vital local history.

What unites them all is how they help preserve architecture and memory.

Why It Matters

Heritage preservation has nothing to do with halting time—it has everything to do with keeping the past alive. When neighbours pass by restored houses or churches, they are seen. When visitors visit places of historical importance, they learn dates, culture, grit, and home pride.

When youth help re-coat a clapboard wall or learn how to install a storm window the old way, they do more than gain a trade—they learn a tradition.

The new grants are a modest but powerful investment in Newfoundland and Labrador heritage, acknowledging the families who used these buildings and keeping their stories based on the landscape they helped shape.