Durfee House, Churchover One-Place Study

Captain Joseph and Ann Durfee, Loyalists in Rhode Island during the American Revolution, were exiled to Shelburne, Nova Scotia in 1783. For his service to the Crown as a captain and pilot, Joseph was granted 500 acres on the west side of Shelburne Harbour, now called Churchover. The Durfees built an imposing farmhouse fit for a sea captain. Over the next 200 years, the house was occupied by eight different families, the last being my mother’s cousins. I spent many happy childhood summers there soaking up the history. The house was torn down about 1999. I seek to recreate it.