Wade House

Description
Wade House is a large two storey wood framed house built in 1934 located on a large lot on the north side of Bowron Avenue overlooking the Quesnel River in North Quesnel, BC. The historic place includes the building and the parcel of land it occupies.

Heritage Value
Wade House is located in North Quesnel which is an older residential neighbourhood in the city. While not in its original form, the house is a physical reminder of the people who shaped the development of Quesnel. The house was built by local contractor Ed Hilborn of Dragon Lake and the land was terraced and cleared by Ceal Tingley.

The house is named for Joseph and Pearl (Waterson) Wade. Joe was from England and Pearl was from Michigan. They were married in the Anglican Church Manse in Quesnel in 1917. The Wade family lived outside of Quesnel until 1930 when Joseph purchased Fred Abbott’s Ford Garage. Joe renamed the business Quesnel Motors. Pearl gave piano lessons and was the organist at the Anglican Church. Joe was the Village Commissioner, who also owned and operated Barkerville Stage, which eventually became Wade Transport. The Wade family is recognized for their contribution to the development of the community with a street named in their honour.

Character-Defining Elements
The character-defining elements of Wade House include:

• a fine example of a large two storey wood framed 1930s house;
• ideally situated on a large wooded lot that overlooks the Quesnel River;
• its original character;
• a steeply pitched gable roof and wood siding
• many double paned six-over-six windows on the first storey and double six-paned windows on the second storey
• a covered porch with pediment
• a projection with six-over-six windows on the eastern side of the house.