Glenaladale trusts gets $700K from government to acquire property

The federal government is providing $705,000 in funding to allow a local trust to acquire and preserve historic Glenaladale Estate in Tracadie, P.E.I.

The Glenaladale Heritage Trust Inc. will use the 523-acre estate to educate the public about the province's Scottish heritage and promote arts and culture in the region.

"From the Mi'kmaq to the Acadians, to the Scottish, Irish and British, this location has been called home by many Islanders," Cardigan MP Lawrence MacAulay said during a news conference Wednesday announcing the funding.

The Glenaladale Settlement of 1772 became the earliest large Scottish emigration to what would become Canada. There have been four houses on the Glenaladale estate. The current brick mansion was built in 1883.

Glenaladale was the private home of three generations of the family of Captain John MacDonald until 1905, when it was purchased by the MacKinnon family, who have owned it ever since.

The property came on the market six years ago, and the Scottish Settlers Historical Society wanted todo something to preserve it.

In January 2015, the Glenaladale Heritage Trust was incorporated, and March 2016 it received charitable status.

Mary J. Gallant, chair of the trust, said part of its mandate is to protect the site from "unsympathetic development."

'Architectural gem-of-a-home'

"We knew its significance historically, but also saw its potential to explore a better future," she said.

"We are now focused on the regeneration of the schoolhouse and architectural gem-of-a-home to create a vibrant centre of varied cultural and educational pursuits, on strengthening partnerships and on continued fundraising."

The government funding is provided through the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund.

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