Formal Recognition Type

Registered Heritage Structure

Heritage Value

Lane House (Salvage Fisherman’s Museum) was designated a Registered Heritage Structure by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2020 due to its historic and aesthetic value. 

Lane House (Salvage Fisherman’s Museum) was built circa 1862 for Charles and Adelaide Lane. Charles was an inshore fisherman and sealer whose ancestors arrived in Newfoundland from Dorset in the 18th century. Charles and Adelaide kept a typical homestead for the period, tending gardens and livestock on the property. Their house too is representative of period construction — a modified saltbox dwelling possessing early, small-pane 3/6 wood windows. It is somewhat larger than earlier houses indicating both more permanent settlement patterns and the increasing wealth of working families. It is set back from the road in a garden populated by berry bushes and specimen lilac and apple trees.

Charles Maxwell “Max” Lane, Charles and Adelaide’s son, was a teacher, magistrate, and lay minister before entering the political arena. Max was a proponent of Confederation and in 1951 was appointed General Secretary of the Smallwood-backed Newfoundland Federation of Fishermen (NFF). While the NFF was criticized for its close ties to the governing party and, therefore, its ineffectual advocacy, Lane denounced the government’s lack of participation. In 1956 Lane was elected MHA for White Bay North and later held Cabinet positions including Minister of Public Welfare, Fisheries and Mines, and Agriculture and Resources.

Lane House (Salvage Fisherman’s Museum) has come to have modern significance as home to the Salvage Fishermen’s Museum. Established in the 1960s by the Heffern family and other volunteers, today it is among the province’s oldest community museums. The museum has benefitted from the input of Anita Lane, granddaughter to Charles and Adelaide, who has contributed information on the family and property.

Source: Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador property file “Salvage –  Lane House (Salvage Fishermen’s Museum) – FPT NL-5320”

Character Defining Elements

All original features of the house which relate to the age and style including:
-mid-pitch gable roof;
-narrow wood clapboard;
-original 3/6 wood sash windows;
-original wood panel doors with stained glass;
-plain wood trim; and
-size and placement on the property.

Community

Salvage

Municipality

Town of Salvage

Civic Address

52 Mountain View Road

Construction (circa)

1862 - 1862

Style

Rectangular Long Façade