Anderson House

Anderson House is a wooden, two and one half storey hip roofed heritage-designated building located at 42 Powers Court, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. It is a Vernacular Georgian style building and is reported to be one of the oldest structures in the city of St. John's.

The house is of modest construction and an excellent example of 19th-century homes. It was built on land that was purchased from Dr. Jonathan Ogden, a Newfoundland chief justice, in 1802. It was constructed circa 1803-1804, possibly for Sergeant James Anderson. The date is suggested by two notes in the Governor’s Correspondence, a 1803 permission to build a barn on the property and a 1804 permission to building a dwelling house. Little is known about Anderson's military history, though he is listed as a Bombardier with the Royal Regiment of Artillery stationed at St. John's in 1797 and as a Sergeant by 1811. Anderson held land in that area at least by 1808, as in September 1819, the Newfoundland Mercantile Journal gave notice of the public auction of a property lot in the vicinity of the upper part of Maggoty Cove, Signal Hill: "The freehold of a field adjoining Lot No, 14, now in the occupancy of Mr. James Anderson, and by him held under a lease, of which 11 years will be unexpired on the 1st November next, at the yearly rent of £7 10." An 1849 map shows the house sitting on what is called "Anderson's Ground." Oral history maintains the house was used both as a private residence and as a military barracks with a section of the house used to stable horses. While Anderson's military career is not well documented, multiple newspaper accounts from the era show him to be an entrepreneur, renting and developing properties, selling goods including turnips, carrots, parsnips, firewood, and timothy seed. In 1818, Anderson opened the "St. Johns’ Spruce Beer Brewery" at the upper wharf of John Dunscome on the St. John's waterfront. By May 1842 he had expanded his business to include "Temperance Liquor" including spruce beer and hop porter, sold out of his brewery at Half-way-house, Signal Hill Road, which could have been Anderson’s circa 1803 barn or one of his other houses. Anderson died on St.

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