VOTE DAILY for the Maison Doucet Hennessy House at www.NextGreatSave.ca from March 31 to April 17, 2025
The Maison Doucet Hennessy House in Bathurst has been selected for the prestigious “Next Great Save” 2025 competition sponsored by the National Trust for Canada and UK based Ecclesiastical Insurance. $65,000 will be awarded to the top 3 winners of this VOTE-based contest that starts Monday March 31 and ends April 17.
Melynda Jarratt is the President of the Maison Doucet Hennessy House Association. She says winning the Next Great Save contest would be a “game changer” for the Association, allowing it to secure additional funding and finish renovations which began in earnest on March 5, 2020, just as the COVID pandemic struck.
As the only New Brunswick contestant in the Next Great Save, the Maison Doucet Hennessy House is counting on YOU, your FRIENDS, COLLEAGUES and FAMILY to cast your vote DAILY between March 31 and April 17, 2025 at www.NextGreatSave.ca
This is a VOTE-based contest and the top 3 heritage sites with the most votes will win
GRAND PRIZE: $50,000
FIRST RUNNER UP: $10,000
SECOND RUNNER UP: $5,000
WHAT’S THE NEXT GREAT SAVE COMPETION?
The Next Great Save 2025 Competition offers an incredible opportunity to win $65,000 in cash prizes to help protect cherished heritage places! Canadians have a deep love for their historic sites and rise to the challenge when these treasures are at risk. This competition empowers communities with a $50,000 Grand Prize, generously provided by Ecclesiastical Insurance, along with two runner-up prizes of $10,000 and $5,000. These funds will support projects that protect, adapt, renew, or improve heritage places for the future—while inspiring us all along the way!
Heritage places are critical for sustainable communities, central to responding to climate change, and vital to our collective wellbeing and sense of belonging. Yet every day more are lost. The Next Great Save competition is our way of highlighting the impact of saving and renewing these places, and getting people from coast-to-coast-to-coast involved in the process.
HOW DO I VOTE FOR THE MAISON DOUCET HENNESSY HOUSE?
This is a VOTE-based competition. You can vote once every day for 18 days!
Go to www.NextGreatSave.ca
Select “Maison Doucet Hennessy House”
Click “Vote Now”
Enter your email
You will receive a confirmation email.
Confirm the confirmation email (If you do not confirm, your vote will NOT be included in the tally)
Vote every day between March 31 and April 17!
(For detailed instructions on How To Vote go to https://tinyurl.com/4kjcy42e )
HOW OFTEN CAN I VOTE FOR THE MAISON DOUCET HENNESSY HOUSE?
You, your friends, colleagues and family can vote once every day between March 31 and April 17, 2025.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO SAVE THE MAISON DOUCET HENNESSY HOUSE?
CHERISHED LOCAL HERITAGE SITE
The Maison Doucet Hennessy House is a cherished local historic site built by Charles Doucet, an enterprising Acadian refugee whose family established the first permanent European settlement at Nepisiguit (present-day Bathurst, New Brunswick) in 1781. Nearly 250 years later, a dedicated group of built heritage advocates are giving the Maison Doucet Hennessy House new life as a mixed-use community cultural hub with opportunities for social enterprise while transforming it into model of energy efficiency and housing. The original homestead was built circa 1812 on a King George III land grant. Subsequent generations of Doucets raised and expanded the house to what we see today, a large, 2 1/2 story structure with stone foundation, mansard roof, windows, dormers and shingles. A staircase at the entry and framed window treatment around the front door and vestibule give this house a distinctive, stately appearance. In the early 1900s, the house and 200 acres passed on to the Irish-Scottish Hennessys, who have a compelling immigrant story to tell of their own. Known locally as the Doucet Hennessy House, the building stands atop the highest peak of land in Bathurst and has commanding views of the harbour and basin. In 2012, the site was purchased by the Maison Doucet Hennessy House Association, a non-profit, charitable organization. Numerous studies and reports by historians, architects and engineers have reaffirmed the building’s special place in Bathurst’s history. In the summer season, the organization offers employment and a broad variety of cultural programming including theatrical performances, artist residencies and exhibits, film screenings, music and historic presentations by writers, historians, genealogists and researchers. Considerable volunteer effort has already gone into saving this historic place. Since 2020, it has undergone significant structural renovations, with Phase One repairs to the stone foundation, reinforcement of floors and walls with new posts and beams in the cellar, and strengthening of the attic with custom made cables, truss and boards. Also included in Phase One were repairs to the vestibule and exterior shingles, new steps and improved soil drainage. The house exterior was also completely repainted, restoring its stately appearance on the city landscape. The Association is currently in Phase Two with new walls, ceilings, electrical and plumbing, as well as an accessible washroom on the first floor. Plans to develop the rest of the building for social enterprise and two housing units aimed at low to moderate income earners are its priority now, along with a focus on solar energy to improve energy efficiency and reduce its carbon footprint. Fundraising is always an issue, but even more so since COVID with fierce competition for donations in a small community facing its own challenges. That’s why the Next Great Save is SO IMPORTANT to the Maison Doucet Hennessy House Association. Now, more than ever, winning the Next Great Save will allow the Association to secure additional funding and get the job done!
VOTE DAILY for the Maison Doucet Hennessy House at www.NextGreatSave.ca from March 31 to April 17, 2025
QUESTIONS?
Contact: Melynda Jarratt, President, Association Maison Doucet Hennessy House
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maisondoucethennessyhouse
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maisondoucethennessyhouse/
Tel: 506-440-4567
