Several wooden structures painted yellow.Few people saw the inside of the 110-year-old Crowley House in Ochre Pit Cove, but owner Bob Kelland won’t forget the beauty and history it brought to the community. (Bob Kelland/Facebook)

An iconic, sunshine-yellow landmark of Conception Bay’s north shore is among the more than 200 structures lost to the Kingston wildfire.

A registered heritage structure, Crowley House stood in Ochre Pit Cove for 110 years. Its owner, Bob Kelland, was in Quebec when a neighbour told him it burned down.

“[I’m] devastated not only for myself and my family, but also for my neighbours, family friends, everybody in the north shore and in fact all Newfoundlanders,” Kelland said in an interview with CBC Radio’s The Broadcast.

The biscuit box-style house had few occupants since it was built in 1915, but it was the cornerstone of its community, Kelland said.

For years the house maintained its original look, along with a stable, root cellar, and a garage which was built in the 1950s. The property was nestled on a large plot of agricultural land near the sea. It’s all ashes now. 

According to Heritage Newfoundland and Labrador, the original owner was Aubrey Crowley. He left his family home to his son, Jack.

Jack Crowley was known as a quiet and respected man in the community. He was a teacher, principal, returning officer, and commissioner of oaths and marriages. 

Kelland came to own the Crowley House about five years ago when he purchased it from the Doyle family, who bought the property from Jack Crowley’s nephew in 2000. 

A painting of a landscape.The Crowley House in Ochre Pit Cove was depicted by painter Jean Claude Roy several times. (Emma Butler Gallery)

Few people have seen the inside of the house, Kelland said.

But the new owner had plans.

“I thought that might be the perfect artist retreat, but that ain’t happening anymore,” he said.

Community artifacts lost

Bob’s grandfather, Otto Kelland, was known for building model dories. They were painted in a similar yellow to the siding and fences of Crowley House. Some of them were inside the house when it burned, as were Jack Crowley’s records and relics of Ochre Pit Cove’s history, Kelland told CBC.

“They were all part of our culture. Now it’s all gone with everything else.”

The Crowley House was one of 59 structures in Ochre Pit Cove lost to the 10,708-hectare fire that started in the nearby town of Kingston.

That fire also destroyed 12 structures in Kingston, 33 in Small Point-Broad Cove-Blackhead-Adam’s Cove, 86 in Western Bay and 13 in Northern Bay.

With those devastating numbers in mind, Kelland said his sadness is starting to shift to anger.

“My anger right now is focused at the leadership of the government … this could have been handled much more effectively,” he said.

Kelland is still in Quebec. He said he doesn’t expect the reality of the situation to set in until he gets home.

As for picking up the pieces, he said he hasn’t made any plans yet. 

“[Not] until I lay my eyes on the heap of ashes. Then I’ll have a better feel for it. But I really cannot think that far forward until I see it from my own two eyes.”

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