The central chimney house features a free-hand floral motif painting on plaster above the fireplace. Dr. Jim Sinclair, friend and neighbour of owner Suzie Wright (92 years old), presumes that the artwork was created by itinerant painter (one of the "Ridge MacDonalds") Ronald MacDonald circa 1865.
Catalogue info: Murals (two) and stencilled wall in the first floor right back room, Walter William Hess (b. 1910) 1952. Oil on wood. When the murals were painted, the house was owned by Angus William Gillis. He died in 1977 and the house was sold to the present owners. The house has since been unoccupied and the owners donated two murals to the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.
Margaree River View Inn (formerly Margaree Lodge): The Riverview Inn property features a small Gothic house to the far right of the land built by Sam Campbell, a former prominent landowner in the Margarees. Mr. Campbell moved from Mabou to Margaree in 1836 but it’s unlikely the house was built before 1850.
Catalogue info: Mabou Mines was settled by Catholic Scots who came to Cape Breton via Prince Edward Island in the early 1800s. The land on which this house is built was granted to Finlay Beaton who arrived in Mabou Mines in 1809. Although it is uncertain when the house was built, the original chimney opening to two fireplaces indicates a building date prior to 1840.
