1
MacDonald House Museumca 2006
East Lake Ainslie, Inverness County, NS
Credits:Pauline MacLean
2
BackgroundThe early 1800's saw the beginnings of Scottish settlement in East Lake Ainslie and other areas of Cape Breton Island. One of these families was that of Alexander (Weaver) MacDonald who settled in East Lake Ainslie in 1823 (LAHS, MacDonald House). The men of this family most likely would have constructed a small log cabin to provide shelter for the first few years of their new lives. In the 1850's (actual date unknown) Charles MacDonald, son of Alexander, built a home for himself and his family on his father's property. The MacDonald's were the first merchants to set up a store in the area, and they also were the first Postmasters for Lake Ainslie. This house remains today and is now used as a museum depicting life at Lake Ainslie. Over the years the house has seen a few changes, and many different events. The house is wood-frame construction and has elements of Gothic Revival architecture
3
View from the front lawn of MacDonald House21 June 2006
East Lake Ainslie, Inverness County, NS
Credits:Pauline MacLean
4
April MacLean - author of the papers which inspired this exhibitca.2002
East Lake Ainslie, Inverness County, NS
Credits:Pauline MacLean
5
As a high school and university student I spent my summers working at the MacDonald House Museum as a tour guide. Later I became the Administrator for the museum. I spent a total of eight summers working for the Lake Ainslie Historical Society at MacDonald House. This experience gave me a vast amount of knowledge about the house and its former residents. Due to my experience as an employee at the museum, much of the information contained within this paper is drawn from tacit knowledge acquired over the course of the eight summers I worked there. Any information from outside sources is cited. In preparation for this architectural study I spent a day in the Registry of Deeds office in Port Hood looking at all the relevant deeds and grants. I was able to get the permission of the Lake Ainslie Historical Society to borrow many of the documents that were in storage in the house so that I would be able to consult them throughout the research process. In January, I spent two afternoons photographing and measuring the house with my father and gathering documents to take down from the museum for the remainder of the winter. In March I photographed the exteriors of two neighbouring houses with similarities in style and construction6
Campbell House, Lake Ainslie13 March 2006
East Lake Ainslie, Inverness County, NS
Credits:April MacLean
7
Campbell House, back view13 March 2006
East Lake Ainslie, Inverness County, NS
Credits:April MacLean
8
MacKinnon home, Lake Ainslie12 March 2006
East Lake Ainslie, Inverness County, NS
Credits:April MacLean
9
MacKinnon house, Lake Ainslie13 March 2006
East Lake Ainslie, Inverness County, NS
Credits:April MacLean
10
Like other settlers to Lake Ainslie in the early 1800's the MacDonald's would have had a tough first few years, clearing land, building a home, growing crops for the winter, and learning to deal with a harsh climate. Alexander MacDonald brought his wife Mary MacLean, and their family grew to include six girls and two boys. One son, Donald, married a daughter of the Hon. William McKeen of Mabou. It is believed that this connection may have played a part in Donald's younger brother Charles opening a store on the family land in Lake Ainslie in 1852 (MacLean, LAHS MacDonald House). The store was situated below the house and the foundation can still be seen through the grass and bushes.Charles was apparently an enterprising man as he not only operated the first store in the area, but also housed the first post office in his dining room. Charles served the East Lake Ainslie area as Post Master from 1867 until his death in 1897 (LAHS, MacDonald House). Charles' wife Hannah took over the position until 1925 when her son Dan C. became Post Master. Dan C. and his wife Jessie were the last couple to raise a family in MacDonald House. They had four children, three girls and one boy, Charles Neil. Charles N. MacDonald built a home for himself and his wife Jessie (nee MacLean) on the shoreline of his father's property and raised one son Charles there. The three girls each married and lived away from Cape Breton, but they were each given a plot of land near the shoreline and built summer homes there.
The youngest Charles married Ann Campbell from the Whycocomagh area and had two children, Robert and Jessica. They purchased a mini-home and lived for a time on the family property just below the MacDonald house. Their mini-home is now owned and occupied by Terry MacDonald who is no relation to the original family.
11
Image of land grant for MacDonald property.ca. 1870
East Lake Ainslie, Inverness County, NS
12
The MacDonald property became one of the gathering places for East Lake residents as it was where they not only got their mail and supplies, but it was a place to ‘get the news' from their friends and neighbours. Dan C. was quite adept at playing the fiddle, so quite often a party would break out in their home. People coming in for the mail were not treated as customers, but rather sat in the kitchen and were offered a cup of tea and perhaps a biscuit and made a visit out of it. One woman who grew up in the area remembers being sent for the mail by her father when she was just six or seven years old. He set her on their most trusted horse, and told the horse to go get the mail. The horse brought the girl safely up to the back door of MacDonald House where she hollered for Dan C. He brought her out the mail (she thinks it must have been a very important letter) and she then had to ask him to turn the horse around and tell it to go home. The date the store was closed is unknown, but the post office closed in 1956 when the Rural Route mail delivery system was put in place.13
Spinning party at MacDonald Houseca. 1990
East Lake Ainslie, Inverness County, NS
14
Over the last 183 years six generations of MacDonald's have called this property home. They became an integral part of life at East Lake Ainslie. Because of the importance of the house to the area, a group of residents came together in 1978 to form the Lake Ainslie Historical Society. Charles N and his wife Jessie donated the house, barn and a portion of land to the Lake Ainslie historical Society and the MacDonald House Museum opened in 1979. Over the last 27 years many young people in the area have worked at the museum during the summer months |
 |
 |
 |