BLUE ACRES – Despite the fact that owner Vernon Blois had confirmed almost a month ago that he was thinking about tearing it down, the demolition of the old stone house in Blue Acres seemed sudden and surprising to those passing on East River Road Monday.
The work began in the early afternoon and within hours there was little but rubble left of the historic home.
None was more surprised than local historian John Ashton who had actually been trying to arrange a meeting with Blois, to talk about ways to preserve the historical site.
“I talked to him a week ago,” Ashton said. “He didn’t give me any inkling they were going to tear it down this soon.”
He said it’s sad to lose a piece of history, but at the same time understands the difficulty of getting government or even private money for costly projects such as heritage sites.
“If there was someone with lots of money, we probably could have done something. I know there was a lot of interest,” Ashton said. “The reality is you would need lots of money.”
He said it’d be nice if there were a way to for the municipalities in Pictou County to find a way to preserve their past better.
The stone house was built in 1822 by Donald MacLennan. Donald was the son of John MacLennan who was born in Scotland and was among the settlers who came to Pictou County aboard the Ship Hector. It is for the MacLennans that MacLellans Brook got its name. It’s believed the stones could have come from Scotland.
