Historic McDonald House in Fort Qu’Appelle to be restored as museum expands

A large 1800s brick home known as ‘The Castle' in Fort Qu’Appelle has been purchased by the town and is now being restored. Wayne Mantyka has the story.

A historic home tied to Saskatchewan’s fur trading past is set for restoration after being purchased by the Fort Qu’Appelle Heritage Museum.

The McDonald House, built in 1886, sits on the site of a former fur trading outpost in the Qu’Appelle Valley. It was built for Archibald McDonald, the last chief factor of the Hudson’s Bay Company during the fur trading era, along with his wife and two children.

• Here’s what one woman has created with a 124-year-old church in Saskatchewan

The home had served as a private residence until recently being acquired by the museum, where it will now be incorporated into the adjacent museum operation. An opening ceremony was held at the site to mark the milestone.

Museum president Brad Braithwaite said community support played a major role in making the project possible.

“A lot of volunteers, Lions Club and etcetera have all pitched in huge and we have a real good volunteer base in this town for the museum and for the house.”

• Download the CTV News app to get breaking news alerts sent to your device

The restoration effort also received support from the Town of Fort Qu’Appelle, which provided the museum with a $200,000 interest-free loan over 10 years to help secure the property.

“To let it go we just couldn’t so our council decided to help the museum out , Mr. Brad Braithwaite to achieve the goal of purchasing it so we lent them a $200,000 interest free loan for ten years,” said Fort Qu’Appelle Mayor Brian Strong.

The project was spearheaded by Allan Hustak, a museum volunteer and reporter for the local newspaper, who died Thursday.

A moment of silence was held during the ceremony in recognition of Hustak’s contributions.

“This was something that he would have been here absolutely and it’s so unfortunate that he, well he is with us today,” Strong said.

Plans call for a full restoration of the McDonald House and surrounding property, preserving a piece of Fort Qu’Appelle’s history while helping tell the story of how a fur trading fort in the Qu’Appelle Valley contributed to the creation of the community.