Charles Macdonald’s Concrete House Museum

Charles Macdonald was born in Steam Mill, Nova Scotia and was brought up in the Annapolis Valley. His father was an apple grower and his grandfather was a Presbyterian minister, but art was what Charles was interest in. He started drawing early in life and spent as much time at it as he could.

He left school at an early age and worked in and around Kentville at different jobs for several years. He became a very efficient carpenter and wanting to explore he obtained a job on ship as a ship's carpenter in 1898. On board ship he managed to travel the world taking in everything as he went. He spent several years on ship and then moved to British Columbia.

When he returned home in 1912 he was full of ideas of how he wanted his life to be. He had seen and learned much and now he wanted to put all that to some good.

Fascinated by concrete he built a concrete brick factory on Saxon Street, along the road to Halls Harbour, Nova Scotia. Although concrete had been around on a small scale prior to this, it still was not a well known commodity. It was hard going for Charles at first; he lived in a tent outside his factory. But then World War I broke out and there was a demanding market for concrete in the war effort.

In 1916 Charlie married Mabel Meisner from Chipman Brook and they decided to turn his factory building into their home. He moved his factory close to a gravel pit in Yoho, just outside of Kentville. He named his company Kentville Concrete Products and they made a wide range of pre-cast products.

Not only was the company well known for the products it made, but also for the working conditions there. Charlie was a big critic of capitalism and decided that his company would run to benefit his employees rather than make them rich. It was run cooperatively where the workers did not receive a wage but rather just drew what they needed from the company coffers.

When the Great Depression hit in the 1930's Charlie had some money saved away and instead of closing his doors, he took on a major project. Charlie and Kentville Concrete Products built five concrete cottages at Huntington Point by Halls Harbour. These cottages were all built of concrete and reinforced with iron & driftwood and then brightly painted.

Charles & Mabel kept one cottage for themselves and Charlie rented out the other ones for a low fee. When he found people who wished to purchase a cabin he would only sell it to them if he felt they would take proper care of it. One of these cottages was destroyed in 1982 but the other four still survive today.

Charlie ran his company until one day in 1951. It was at the end of the day and the foreman was just about to leave when Charlie handed him the keys to the company and said "It's yours!" He was 77 years old then and although he still had some association with the company, he enjoyed a long retirement.

When Charlie and Mabel built their house, he wanted it to be all made from reinforced concrete. He loved concrete and believed it could be used for almost everything.

He also built it in his own style, a style he incorporated from all that he had seen while abroad on ship. He also added his own sense of humor into the house and yard. Some examples of this is the sunshine yellow paint he used and the columns shaped like trees, a concrete bath-tub and handprints on the concrete window-sill. The whole property is filled with sculptures, paintings and rugs, (hooked by his wife). The impression is of a magical, sculpted cottage, tailor-made for an uncommon individual.

Outside the yard is full of concrete sculptures of deer, a mountain lion, a young woman washing her hair, giant mushrooms and other figurines and furniture.

Over time many of the sculptures were leaning and in need of repair from vandalism, time and weather. In 2001/2002 the collection of statues was the focus of a conservation project directed by conservator Paula E. French. The statues were up-righted, cleaned, scraped, repaired and repainted.

Today Charles & Mabel's house has been turned into the Concrete House Museum and is run by the Charles Macdonald House of Centreville Society with assistance from the Community Museums Assistance Program of the Nova Scotia Museum and the County of Kings. It is a Nova Scotia cultural and artistic landmark.

The Charles Macdonald’s Concrete House Museum is located at 19 Saxon Street, Centreville, Kings County, NS, B0P 1J0. It is along highway #359 to Halls Harbour from Kentville.

You may contact them by phoning (902) 678 3177, or visit the Concrete House Museum website.

The Concrete House Museum is open daily in the summer season and admission is free.

Leave The Charles Macdonald’s Concrete House Museum and return to see other Annapolis Valley Museums