Mabel Bell, wife of Alexander Graham Bell, receives posthumous honour
Alexander Graham Bell's influential wife and his stately summer home in Cape Breton have received more honours.
In a ceremony on Tuesday at the Bell museum in Baddeck, the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada unveiled plaques commemorating Mabel Hubbard Bell and Beinn Bhreagh Hall.
The 125-year-old Beinn Bhreagh estate, the Bells' summer home, is perched on the end of a peninsula looking out over Baddeck Bay.
It was built of stone in 1883 and retains much of its original architecture, thanks in part to a provincial conservation easement that regulates maintenance and repairs to the building's exterior.
Beinn Bhreagh is now protected as a federal and provincial heritage site.
Sara Grosvenor, Bell's great-granddaughter, said the estate continues to house her ancestors' spirits.
"It's a house that has so much history and is so resonant of their lives," she said. "I mean, you can feel their presence still."
Bell's descendants are currently appealing the assessed value of the estate used to calculate property taxes.
The provincial assessor says the land and building are worth $1 million, while the family says it should be half that.
They are awaiting a decision from the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board, which held a hearing in Baddeck earlier this year.
Mabel Bell driving force behind success
Mabel Hubbard Bell, who was also recognized with a plaque, was not just the wife of the inventor of the telephone.
Deaf from the age of five because of scarlet fever, she became the driving force behind Bell's success as an inventor and scientist and organized and financed his experiments.
Mabel Bell, who died in 1923, was also widely known for her education and community efforts and received an honorary degree, granted posthumously, from Cape Breton University in 2015.
Grosvenor said her great-grandmother was a remarkable woman.
"Mabel Hubbard Bell just achieved so much through her own personal drive and perseverance and talent, and then she found this soulmate who she was able to incredibly inspire as well," she said. "It's a wonderful legacy."
Sydney-Victoria MP Mark Eyking said Mabel Bell was an influential woman at home with Alexander Graham Bell, and elsewhere, more than a century ago.
Her achievements are still noteworthy, he said.
"We see it so much in today's day-to-day lives with women, but I think back then she was a driving force and I think she inspired many around the world," Eyking said.
The federal plaques were unveiled inside the Bell museum and are set to be installed on the museum grounds later this year.
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