Beinn Bhreagh, Nova Scotia
Encyclopedia
Beinn Bhreagh, generally pronounced "ban vreeagh", is the name of the estate founded by Dr. Alexander Graham Bell
, which has become an unincorporated rural community located in Victoria County
, Nova Scotia
, Canada
. It is located on a peninsula jutting into Cape Breton Island
's scenic Bras d'Or Lake
approximately 3 km (1.9 mi) southeast of the village of Baddeck
forming the southern shore of Baddeck Bay.
The location was known to the Mi'kmaq as "Megwatpatek", roughly translated to "Red Head" and referencing the reddish sandstone rocks at the tip of the peninsula. The name "Beinn Bhreagh"—meaning "Beautiful Mountain" in Scottish Gaelic—is thought to have been given to the peninsula by the inventor of the telephone, Dr. Bell, who purchased approximately 600 acre (2.4 km²; 0.937500828913072 sq mi) on Red Head in the late 1880s.
In July 2005, the Nova Scotia Civic Address Project review changed the status of Beinn Bhreagh from a "generic locality" to a "community".
, inventor Alexander Graham Bell
and his wife Mabel
undertook a cruising
vacation in 1885 along the coast of eastern North America with their intended destination being Newfoundland, in order to view a mining operation that Mabel's father
had invested in. Along the way, due to the accidental grounding of their passenger boat, they serendipitously discovered Cape Breton's Bras d'Or Lake
and were enthralled by their surroundings.
Its landscape, climate, and Scottish traditions and culture
were reminiscent of his birthplace in Edinburgh
, Scotland
. The Bells lived increasingly on Beinn Bhreagh from about 1888 until Dr. Bell's death in 1922, initially only in the summer and then later often year-round.
Bell constructed a laboratory on this property, where he conducted experiments in powered flight
and hydrofoil
technology, among many other things. Some of his most notable accomplishments at Beinn Bhreagh included the first manned flight of an airplane in the British Commonwealth
(by the AEA Silver Dart
) in 1909, plus the HD-4, a hydrofoil boat designed by Frederick Walker Baldwin and Dr. Bell, and built at Beinn Bhreagh. Designed as a submarine chaser
and powered by aircraft engine
s, their vessel set a world watercraft speed record of 71 miles per hour (114.3 km/h) in 1919, which remained unbroken for many years.
Dr. Bell and his wife Mabel were both buried atop Beinn Bhreagh mountain, on the estate, overlooking Bras d'Or Lake. The original Beinn Bhreagh estate remains in the hands of their many descendants and is not open to the public. However, "The Point", Dr. Bell's main residence on Beinn Bhreagh, built in 1893, is visible from the town of Baddeck, where the Alexander Graham Bell Museum is located. The Alexander Graham Bell Museum is on the Canadian Register of Historic Places.
was the first president of the National Geographic Society
and Bell was its second president. Bell's son-in-law Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor
ran the National Geographic Society for many years, and his grandson, Melville Bell Grosvenor
, and great grandson Gilbert Melville Grosvenor
were editors of the National Geographic Magazine
and Presidents of the Society. Perhaps as a result, both Beinn Bhreagh or Baddeck, the nearest town, are prominently displayed in National Geographic maps of the area, despite their relatively small size.
Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell was an eminent scientist, inventor, engineer and innovator who is credited with inventing the first practical telephone....
, which has become an unincorporated rural community located in Victoria County
Victoria County, Nova Scotia
Victoria County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.The shire town and largest municipality is the village of Baddeck.-History:Named after Queen Victoria, it was established by statute in 1851...
, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It is located on a peninsula jutting into Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....
's scenic Bras d'Or Lake
Bras d'Or Lake
Bras d'Or Lake is a large body of salt water dominating the centre of Cape Breton Island in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. Bras d'Or Lake is sometimes referred to as the Bras d'Or Lakes or the Bras d'Or Lakes system, however its official geographic name is Bras d'Or Lake as it is a singular...
approximately 3 km (1.9 mi) southeast of the village of Baddeck
Baddeck, Nova Scotia
Baddeck is a Canadian village in Victoria County, Nova Scotia.It is the county's shire town and is situated on the northern shore of Bras d'Or Lake on Cape Breton Island...
forming the southern shore of Baddeck Bay.
The location was known to the Mi'kmaq as "Megwatpatek", roughly translated to "Red Head" and referencing the reddish sandstone rocks at the tip of the peninsula. The name "Beinn Bhreagh"—meaning "Beautiful Mountain" in Scottish Gaelic—is thought to have been given to the peninsula by the inventor of the telephone, Dr. Bell, who purchased approximately 600 acre (2.4 km²; 0.937500828913072 sq mi) on Red Head in the late 1880s.
In July 2005, the Nova Scotia Civic Address Project review changed the status of Beinn Bhreagh from a "generic locality" to a "community".
Alexander Graham Bell
Wealthy from his successful invention and marketing of the telephoneTelephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
, inventor Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell was an eminent scientist, inventor, engineer and innovator who is credited with inventing the first practical telephone....
and his wife Mabel
Mabel Gardiner Hubbard
Mabel Gardiner Hubbard , was the daughter of Boston lawyer Gardiner Hubbard—the first president of the Bell Telephone Company...
undertook a cruising
Cruising (maritime)
Cruising by boat is a lifestyle that involves living for extended time on a boat while traveling from place to place for pleasure. Cruising generally refers to trips of a few days or more, and can extend to round-the-world voyages.- History :...
vacation in 1885 along the coast of eastern North America with their intended destination being Newfoundland, in order to view a mining operation that Mabel's father
Gardiner Greene Hubbard
Gardiner Greene Hubbard was a U.S. lawyer, financier, and philanthropist. He was one of the founders of the Bell Telephone Company and the first president of the National Geographic Society.- Biography :...
had invested in. Along the way, due to the accidental grounding of their passenger boat, they serendipitously discovered Cape Breton's Bras d'Or Lake
Bras d'Or Lake
Bras d'Or Lake is a large body of salt water dominating the centre of Cape Breton Island in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. Bras d'Or Lake is sometimes referred to as the Bras d'Or Lakes or the Bras d'Or Lakes system, however its official geographic name is Bras d'Or Lake as it is a singular...
and were enthralled by their surroundings.
Its landscape, climate, and Scottish traditions and culture
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
were reminiscent of his birthplace in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The Bells lived increasingly on Beinn Bhreagh from about 1888 until Dr. Bell's death in 1922, initially only in the summer and then later often year-round.
Bell constructed a laboratory on this property, where he conducted experiments in powered flight
Flight
Flight is the process by which an object moves either through an atmosphere or beyond it by generating lift or propulsive thrust, or aerostatically using buoyancy, or by simple ballistic movement....
and hydrofoil
Hydrofoil
A hydrofoil is a foil which operates in water. They are similar in appearance and purpose to airfoils.Hydrofoils can be artificial, such as the rudder or keel on a boat, the diving planes on a submarine, a surfboard fin, or occur naturally, as with fish fins, the flippers of aquatic mammals, the...
technology, among many other things. Some of his most notable accomplishments at Beinn Bhreagh included the first manned flight of an airplane in the British Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
(by the AEA Silver Dart
AEA Silver Dart
-References:NotesBibliography* Aerial Experimental Association . Aerofiles. . Retrieved: 19 May 2005.* Green, H. Gordon. The Silver Dart: The Authentic Story of the Hon. J.A.D. McCurdy, Canada's First Pilot. Fredericton, New Brunswick: Atlantic Advocate Book, 1959.* Milberry, Larry. Aviation in...
) in 1909, plus the HD-4, a hydrofoil boat designed by Frederick Walker Baldwin and Dr. Bell, and built at Beinn Bhreagh. Designed as a submarine chaser
Submarine chaser
A submarine chaser is a small and fast naval vessel specially intended for anti-submarine warfare. Although similar vessels were designed and used by many nations, this designation was most famously used by ships built by the United States of America...
and powered by aircraft engine
Aircraft engine
An aircraft engine is the component of the propulsion system for an aircraft that generates mechanical power. Aircraft engines are almost always either lightweight piston engines or gas turbines...
s, their vessel set a world watercraft speed record of 71 miles per hour (114.3 km/h) in 1919, which remained unbroken for many years.
Dr. Bell and his wife Mabel were both buried atop Beinn Bhreagh mountain, on the estate, overlooking Bras d'Or Lake. The original Beinn Bhreagh estate remains in the hands of their many descendants and is not open to the public. However, "The Point", Dr. Bell's main residence on Beinn Bhreagh, built in 1893, is visible from the town of Baddeck, where the Alexander Graham Bell Museum is located. The Alexander Graham Bell Museum is on the Canadian Register of Historic Places.
National Geographic Society maps
Alexander Graham Bell's father-in-law, Gardiner Greene HubbardGardiner Greene Hubbard
Gardiner Greene Hubbard was a U.S. lawyer, financier, and philanthropist. He was one of the founders of the Bell Telephone Company and the first president of the National Geographic Society.- Biography :...
was the first president of the National Geographic Society
National Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society , headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical...
and Bell was its second president. Bell's son-in-law Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor
Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor
Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor , the father of photojournalism, was the first full-time editor of National Geographic Magazine, serving from 1899 to 1954. Grosvenor is credited with having built the magazine into the iconic publication that it is today...
ran the National Geographic Society for many years, and his grandson, Melville Bell Grosvenor
Melville Bell Grosvenor
Melville Bell Grosvenor was the president of the National Geographic Society and editor of National Geographic Magazine from 1957 to 1969...
, and great grandson Gilbert Melville Grosvenor
Gilbert Melville Grosvenor
Gilbert Melville Grosvenor, born on May 5, 1931, is past president and chief executive of the National Geographic Society, as well as a former editor of National Geographic Magazine....
were editors of the National Geographic Magazine
National Geographic Magazine
National Geographic, formerly the National Geographic Magazine, is the official journal of the National Geographic Society. It published its first issue in 1888, just nine months after the Society itself was founded...
and Presidents of the Society. Perhaps as a result, both Beinn Bhreagh or Baddeck, the nearest town, are prominently displayed in National Geographic maps of the area, despite their relatively small size.