Perkins House should be saved, urges Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia

The Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia is pushing the McNeil government to preserve Perkins House in Liverpool, what it calls the "flagship of our architectural heritage."

"The HTNS urges the provincial government to take immediate steps toward lasting stabilization of the Perkins House and stresses the need for sympathetic intervention," the trust said in a release issued Tuesday.

The organization was responding to news the 249-year old museum will be closed in 2015 and perhaps 2016 as well due to serious structural problems.

In recent years the building has shifted, some floor boards have been removed and plaster ceilings and walls are cracking.

The Cape Cod-style building was home to Simeon Perkins, a merchant, diarist and founder of privateers.

"This museum, a humble example of our built heritage, is extraordinarily valuable; not simply due to its age, but because, unlike most other historic sites this house comes with its own journal, courtesy of Simeon Perkins," said the trust.

According to one assessment, it will cost between $500,000 to $700,000 for a foundation, heating system and other restoration work at the museum.