Beinn Bhreagh Hall, Baddeck, Nova Scotia

Beinn Bhreagh Hall was the Nova Scotia residence of inventor and scientist Alexander Graham Bell and his wife, Mabel Bell. Built in 1892-93, this grand home is an outstanding example of the Shingle style architecture that was popular in New England. Noted for its circular towers and stone fireplaces, it also features lush gardens designed by Mabel Bell surrounding the main residence. The estate was an inspiration to Alexander Bell, serving as both a private home and the nerve centre for innovative experiments with kites, tetrahedral construction, hydrofoils, and sheep breeding. It was also here that the Bells founded the Aerial Experiment Association in 1907. This association developed early aircraft, including the Silver Dart, flown in 1909 over Bras d’Or Lake in Canada’s first controlled, powered flight.

With a primary residence in Washington, DC, the Bells began summering at Nova Scotia’s Baddeck Bay in 1885. Alexander Bell liked the community so much that he bought farmland on Red Head Peninsula, named the property Beinn Bhreagh (“beautiful mountain” in Gaelic), and constructed what was then Cape Breton’s largest house, Beinn Bhreagh Hall. American architect Arthur Greene Everett designed the home, with input from Mabel and Alexander. It features prominent stone chimneys, turrets, wood exterior, and numerous verandahs that created a distinctly cottage-like feel, despite its size and elegant gardens. Its interior, with its decorative wood moulding and detailing, is notable for its fine workmanship. Outside, Mabel Bell planned orchards, flower beds, and vegetable gardens, creating a fragrant and colourful landscape.

Originally intended as a summer residence, the family regularly stayed there for much of the year, adding roads, wharves, workshops, and research laboratories. Alexander Graham Bell frequently hired local townspeople to assist in his experiments. He conducted research in many scientific fields, including sound transmission, medicine, aeronautics, marine engineering, and space-frame construction, and he had a longstanding interest in sheep breeding. The Bells welcomed locals and scientists to their home for discussions on these and other topics. At one such meeting in 1907 with Alexander’s aviation research colleagues, the creation of the Aerial Experiment Association was proposed. Mabel Bell solely funded the group’s work, which culminated in the first controlled, powered flight by an aircraft in Canada.

Beinn Bhreagh Hall is distinguished by its association with Alexander and Mabel Bell as the location for their innovative scientific research, and remains one of only a few summer residences in this architectural style.