MacEachern, Ranald “Belle” (Eigg Mountain Settlement History)

 

“Belle” is a woman’s name. …very unusual to mix male/female names like this. …father died too young… [student notes]

“Belle” was cousin to John Angus “Solomon” MacDonald (Stanley-Blackwell and MacLean, 186) [student notes …True??]

 

This house site is to the southeast of Lame Angus MacEachern’s.  The foundation is about 12 feet west of the old drive, now overgrown.  The house was oriented at 172 degrees (i.e. almost due south) and probably faced the road looking down over the Clydesdale River towards Brown’s Mountain.  The cellar was in two parts: a small 14 ft X 14 ft section at the “back,” probably used as a root cellar and a larger 30 by 20 ft chamber on the front.  Charlie thinks the door may have opened out the (20 ft) gable end at the east.  It may also have opened at the 30 ft “front.”  We decided that the foundation probably did not extend beyond the cellar.  Charlie remembers remains of the wood structure in 1949. 

 

Below is a photo looking south from the “back” of the small chamber.  A small piece of iron from the stove is visible in the upper right edge of the image.

 

 

Below is a view looking west across the larger chamber.  Both parts of the cellar are mostly filled in.

 

 

Eigg Mountain, November 15, 2005.

 

Reference List

 

Stanley-Blackwell, Laurie C. C., and Raymond A. MacLean. Historic Antigonish Town and County. Halifax: Nimbus Publishing Ltd.,  2004.