Dr. Lorne MacIntosh, a physician in the community of Hartland, built this house in 1922-1923 as a residence, an office and a community hospital to enhance his private vocation. The house is also recognized for its unique architectural qualities for its era of construction and for its contribution to the community’s well being as a hospital and doctor’s office.
People often lived where they worked because roads were treacherous and transportation was by horse and carriage or sleigh. The nearest hospital was 20 km away. At that time, science was impacted by Louis Pasteur and Florence Nightingale who made connections between cleanliness, hygiene and ventilation and germs and contagious disease, an influence that swayed the Edwardian era. Evidence of these considerations in this structure are the easy-to-clean surfaces such as hardwood maple floors, linoleum hall flooring, painted walls and ceilings, metal furniture, white-washed kitchen cabinetry, mosaic white bathroom tile and ceramic cast iron fixtures with separate linen and broom closets. Rooms included in the hospital were Dr. Lorne MacIntosh’s office, waiting room, scrub and operating room, a stairwell that led to three private rooms and a four-bed ward. A separate closed ward with operating pocket windows, was built attached to the house over the carport. Folklore states its use was a sanatorium. Ventilation was promoted by multiple operational windows and light window treatments.
The hospital was separate from the private living areas which exhibit an Edwardian influence. The features present from this era include carpeted floors, large wood beam ceilings, dark paneling and the large wooden circular dark stairwell with carpet. A separate library is decorated in dark wood paneling, book shelves, operating fireplaces and operating windows that are shaded by a low roof line.
The entire house is enriched by natural wood elements of the region. Beach rock was taken from the shores of the Saint John River to face the second floor den fireplace. Local wood was used extensively throughout the house, such as, spruce for the framing, birch for the interior paneling, and maple for the hardwood floors. Red brick faces the fireplace in the study while gold brick faces the fireplace in the living room. It is a homey atmosphere suited at one time for the doctor’s personality as a gentleman farmer, avid fisherman with a love of horse racing. A local contractor and co-owner of the Hartland Cement works provided the concrete blocks for the entire exterior structure.
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