A storied past
Neil Macneil had constructed an ornate three-storey home on the banks of the Bras d’or to flaunt a fortune amassed while working in the U.S.
It was built to impress. And that’s exactly what it did.
Neil Macneil had constructed an ornate three- storey home on the banks of the Bras d’or to flaunt a fortune amassed while working in the United States.
“It was built by the man referred to as ‘Millionaire Macneil,’” said Donnie Macaulay, a member of the Baddeck & Area Historical Society.
“He went to Boston, made his fortune and came back to Baddeck.”
Macneil had constructed what became known as Inverary Inn’s main lodge in 1891 with materials imported from the United States.
The 11-acre estate included a barn and wagon house.
On Thursday morning, the MacAulay family awoke to news that their main lodge had burned to the ground.
According to the Baddeck Bay historian, the inn’s wooden house was one of three family residences built by the contractor in the 1800s. Two additional structures later became known as the Silver Dart Lodge and Auberge Gisele’s Inn. All three buildings are considered mainstays of the village’s tourism industry.
“It’s just a coincidence that they all became hotels,” said Macaulay.
“Many local people, not only from Baddeck, but from all over the north side, Margaree, and all those areas, have worked at the Inverary (Resort) over the years.”
When Macneil died, his property fell into disrepair. It later became a military training camp and then a community pasture.
At some point, residents began referring to it as the haunted house of Baddeck.
New life sprang forward at the end of the Second World War when military veterans, brothers Chad and Jamie Fownes, purchased the property in partnership with their mother.
As a nod to their Scottish heritage the siblings renamed it the Inverary Inn.
The Fownes family would remain owners until 1971, when Isobel Macaulay, a former innkeeper, purchased the property with her husband Dannie.
In an interview with the Cape Breton Post in 2012, Isobel said she was approached by one of the brothers and asked to become proprietor.
“It was wished on me,” she told Saltwire Network. “I loved it from the start.”
Since the Macaulay family took over operations, the Inverary has undergone a significant expan- sion. The estate grew from 30 rooms to about 190. It now claims resort status, having constructed its own conference centre, indoor pool, boat house and spa.
Isobel and Dannie’s son, Scott Macaulay, would help usher in many of the changes when he became innkeeper in 1979. Their grandson, Matthew Macaulay, now represents a third generation of family management.
During the Macaulays’ ownership of the Inverary, an unusual donation was made by a Canadian celebrity.
The builder of Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Conn Smythe, was in poor health when he stayed at the inn in 1980.
In a passing conversation, Isobel Macaulay related to Smythe that they were expanding the inn and hoped to some day build their own chapel.
Smythe died a short time later in Toronto.
Following his death, a family member called the Macaulays to tell them Smythe posthumously gifted the chapel to them.
The Smythe chapel remained unharmed in last week’s fire.
“It’s heartbreaking,” said Donnie Macaulay of the property’s iconic front office. “It will surely be missed.”
It is not yet known what impact the fire will have on the resort’s summer operations.