Place Description
The iconic mythical home of the beloved character, Anne of Green Gables, is an L-shaped farmhouse located in a pastoral setting in the Prince Edward Island National Park. It features gable roofs, wood shingle cladding, and an array of six over six windows.
Why is this place important?
Green Gables House is valued for its architectural style; its association with the heroine of the fictional work of Prince Edward Island author, L.M. Montgomery; and for its role as a tourism destination in the Cavendish region.
The Green Gables House was originally owned by David MacNeil, a cousin of Lucy Maud Montgomery. It was built in sections in the 1830s, 1870s, and finally attained its L-shaped configuration in 1921. This style is typical of many rural farmhouses in Prince Edward Island - with a central parlour in the main square section of the house and a kitchen in the wing.
With the publication of the novel, "Anne of Green Gables", in 1908 and the subsequent movie released in 1934, world-wide interest in the red haired girl from PEI began to intensify. People were intrigued to visit the place where Anne had grown up.
In 1936, the creation of the Prince Edward Island National Park provided the opportunity to highlight the house - which had inspired the fictional home of Anne. The property was then vacant and in need of care. The original whitewash was fading. It was decided to paint it green and white - with green gables, of course.
Ironically, as historian Alan MacEachern, reveals, the initial thought was to use the house as the clubhouse for the new 18-hole golf course which began being built in 1938. However, public pressure and local interest in highlighting the home of Anne, helped preserve the house for this purpose to this day.
Green Gables House is one of the most visited sites in the National Park system. It displays artifacts associated with Lucy Maud Montgomery and in recent years, barns and farm outbuildings have been added to the site to enhance the experience of visitors.
Source: Culture and Heritage Division, PEI Department of Communities, Cultural Affairs and Labour, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8
File #: 4310-20/G7
For further reading: Alan MacEachern, "The Greening of Green Gables: Establishing the Prince Edward Island National Park," The Island Magazine, Number 45, Spring/Summer 1999: 22-31
Links: Canada's Imaginary Celebrity by Lana Stewart
Special Characteristics
The following character-defining elements illustrate the heritage value of Green Gables House:
- The traditional L-shaped configuration of the house
- The gable roofs
- The brick chimneys
- The wood shingle cladding
- The painted white and green colour scheme
- The six over six windows
- The green shutters
- The wall dormer in the wing
- The hipped roof front porch
- The sidelights and transom light of the entrance in the front porch
Other character-defining elements include:
- The location of the house in a manicured landscape with adjacent agricultural buildings in the Prince Edward Island National Park
