the general rugged appearance, with sods type, size, material and placement of door Source: Town of Elliston Town Council Meeting Minutes of 0 Character Defining ElementsĪll those exterior elements related to the age, design and aesthetic value of the cellar and site: Once commonplace, root cellars have become symbolic of the history of subsistence in rural Newfoundland and most especially of the Town of Elliston, which declared itself Root Cellar Capital of the World in 2000. Root cellars have a connection to a subsistence economy where people farmed, hunted, fished and gathered the raw ingredients for much of their family’s own food.
Still in use, the Jim Goodland Upstairs Root Cellar also has cultural value in Elliston. Together with the Dan Goodland Downstairs Root Cellar, which was built around the same time by Jim’s brother, this cellar is part of the distinctive formation known as the Upstairs-Downstairs Cellars. However, there's quite a few cool details to be found in the many abandoned houses that now litter the sides of the overgrown streets. The stone steps which lead up the hill along a path to the cellar door are a noteworthy feature of this particular cellar site. 6 The Root Cellar Sanctuary Hills might not look like much at first glance, especially after nuclear radiation ravaged through it. It is one structure in a larger, community-wide collection of root cellars that makes the community’s landscape remarkable. Jim Goodland Upstairs Root Cellar has aesthetic value as a component of the cultural landscape of Elliston. It is otherwise surrounded by the natural hill and covered in sod. It has a wooden front door made of vertical board and surrounded by exposed stone construction. This root cellar is of the type that is built into the side of a hill, the most prevalent kind in the Maberly area. They were built to moderate temperature and humidity. Root cellars such as this were common in rural locations to store vegetables and other food. Jim Goodland Upstairs Root Cellar has aesthetic value as a good example of vernacular, utilitarian design and functionality. Such structures were heavily relied on for storing and preserving foodstuffs. Jim Goodland Upstairs Root Cellar has been designated a municipal heritage site by the Town of Elliston due to its historic, aesthetic and cultural value.īuilt in 1915, Jim Goodland Upstairs Root Cellar has historic value given its age and because it survives from a time before modern day refrigeration was the norm in rural Newfoundland. Municipal Heritage Building, Structure or Land Heritage Value