William and his brother Andrew Ricker were shipbuilders, and owned the two Ricker shipyards that were located on the shores nearby. One of the brigs they built was the "Zone," sold to a group of "forty-niners" in Yarmouth. They sailed out of Yarmouth on Dec. 18, 1849, for the long journey around Cape Horn—bound for California gold.
William Ricker was born on July 7, 1824, the son of Ebenezer Ricker and Lucy Frost. His great-grand-father Nathaniel Ricker Sr. had been one of the first settlers to the Argyle area. When William lived here it must have been exciting with all of the activity associated with shipbuilding just a stone's throw away.
He died in the year 1896. But three years earlier he deeded his house and land to daughter Lennie. She was a single woman and lived on here for a number of years. At her death, she willed the property to her cousin Jackson Ricker. Jackson Ricker lived elsewhere but maintained ownership of this house from 1917 to 1927. He was the author of the well known Historical Sketches of Glenwood and the Argyles. In 1927 Jackson Ricker deeded this property to his daughters.
For much of the time that Jackson Ricker and his daughters owned the house it was rented out. Teachers sometimes stayed her and in 1957 the house was rented out as a store and living quarters to men who were building one of the nearby dykes.
Throughout the 1960s and on into the early 1980s, Jackson Ricker daughters made this their summer home.
In 1983 the house was sold to Ruth Blake, a relative. But after a few months Ruth and her husband Bill went back to Australia, (Bill's homeland), Ruth wrote a letter asking me to find a buyer for Quince Tree Cottage.
After making several attempts to sell the home, my sister Tilly and I decided to buy the 143 year-old property and turn it into a summer tourist home. We were fascinated by the property and wanted to honour its past and preserve it for the future.
The house is an attractive one, built on the side of a hill, with the trees and forest rising behind it. It is a very long structure with a five bay facade and an off-centre doorway. The doorway is ornamented by sidelights and a large plain angled hood. All of the windows have these same very plain but attractive hoods as well. The exterior is covered with wooden clapboard siding. The pediment dormers on this house were added in 1907, a pleasing addition.
The house is very much a landmark in the Glenwood Roberts Island community. It's also the first house in Argyle to be designated as a Municipal Heritage Property. The house was declared as such by the Municipal Council in 1985. Its long connection with one of Yarmouth County's first families makes this house an important heritage property.
Since Tilly and I have been involved with this property, we have been committed to keeping the integrity of this lovely home. Basically, we did some landscaping, upgraded the electrical wiring, repaired the foundation and removed the chimneys as they were not safe to use. We also installed a hot air furnace and had a new well dug. (It is spring fed with and provides lots of pure water!) Finally, we stripped plaster from the walls and ceilings, insulated, then dry walled the rooms that had not been done by former owners.
As the 2002 season rolled around we were ready to open! Of course, we chose to register our business as Quince Tree Cottage, which had been lovingly referred to as the "QT" by Ruth and Bill Blake. Ever since, we've had many wonderful families and individuals stay here. Recently, to add a bit of flair to the bedrooms and assist us in keeping track of things, we named the rooms after the four Ricker sisters who once owned the property: Helen, Charlotte, Annie & Elizabeth. It's an interesting coincidence that we, two sisters, now own the Quince Tree Cottage.
We love this house and make it available for guests from May 1- to Oct 31 each year. Our guests feel comfortable and "at home" here. We know that you will too. When you spend time at the Quince Tree Cottage, you will see that it really is "More than a Cottage!"
Judy Atkinson
Note: Much of this write up was taken from an article that appeared in the March 18, 1989 edition of a local paper "The Vanguard. The author, Peter Crowell is the Argyle Municipal Historian.
