Loyalist House, National historic site in Saint John, Canada.

Loyalist House is a two-and-a-half-storey New England Federalist house built of stone and mortar, with a symmetrical facade and a western half set on a stone cellar. Its two main floors repeat the same layout: living and dining rooms, kitchen, study, four bedrooms, main and servants' staircases, four chimneys with two fireplaces each, and thirty-one large windows. The top floor held five servants' rooms, later given skylights.

Built between 1810 and 1817 by a merchant, the house was owned by people who had migrated from the American colonies to Canada. It was among the rare structures in the area that survived a devastating fire in 1877 that destroyed much of the surrounding cityscape.

The house is named for the United Empire Loyalists, the Merritt family who fled Rye, New York, in 1783 and landed at Parrtown with about 6,000 others. Guided tours focus on the Merritts and on the lives of wealthy Saint Johners in the 19th century. The museum is traditionally open on Loyalist Day, May 18.

The building sits on elevated ground because surrounding streets were excavated over time, leaving it above the current street level. Visitors should be prepared to climb a few steps to reach the entrance, which makes the house distinctly visible from the surrounding area.

The carriage house once stood twice its present length and sheltered the family's carriage, sleigh and livestock; the Loyalists kept the animals warm at night with a heated frying pan. The top floor, now lit by skylights added by later Merritts, originally had no windows at all.