The Charles Upham Chandler House is a distinct, asymmetrical two-storey Second Empire home situated on Main Street in Dorchester. Built in the mid-19th century, it is one of three similar residences constructed by Edward Barron Chandler as wedding gifts for his sons.
This house was designated a Local Historic Place due to its association with the Chandler family and its architectural significance.
The Charles Upham Chandler House is notable for its connection to the Chandler family. Born in 1800 in Amherst, Nova Scotia, Edward Barron Chandler was a prominent lawyer, Member of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council of New Brunswick, railway commissioner, federal senator, Father of Confederation, and Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick. Known as Westmorland County’s wealthiest man, he built the Rocklyn mansion in 1831, now a National Historic Site of Canada. He and his wife, Phoebe Walker Millidge, had eleven children, with only five of their nine sons outliving him. For his son George Wentworth Chandler’s marriage on December 30, 1858, Edward gifted a three-storey Second Empire house on Main Street close to their family home. Charles Upham Chandler and his brother Joshua Chandler, who had a double wedding at Trinity Anglican Church on August 11, 1869, received similar two-storey Second Empire houses on Main Street near Rocklyn as wedding presents from their parents.
The Charles Upham Chandler House is also recognized for its architectural features. Built around 1869 by John F. Teed, who later became Rocklyn’s owner, the house exemplifies residential Second Empire architecture. Its exterior and interior have remained mostly unchanged, with the mansard roof, dormer windows, and three brick chimneys still in place. The home also showcases moulded cornices, decorative brackets under the eaves, and three bay windows. With 15 rooms and five functional fireplaces, this house is particularly remarkable for its 19th-century interior plumbing.
On the second floor, there is a three-seater toilet that directly empties behind the house. A trap door in the kitchen provides access to an interior brick (previously lead-lined) water reservoir located in the basement.
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