Constructed: 1899
This house was constructed for William A. Macdonald, Q.C., for an estimated cost of $3500.00. Mr. MacDonald was a “Founding Father” of the City of Nelson having been a signatory to the 1897 Articles of Incorporation. The family moved to Nelson, circa 1896, from Manitoba. In 1913, Mr. MacDonald was appointed a Supreme Court Jurist sitting in Vancouver, B.C. He died in Vancouver on 01 October 1946 at the age of 86 years.
In 1902 Mr. MacDonald was the Crown Prosecutor in the Henry Rose Murder Trial. Henry Rose, found guilty of the murder of John Cole, was sentenced to death and has the auspicious honour of being the last man to be hanged in the City on November 21, 1902. An excellent website account by Rosemarie Parent can be found here: www.alhs-archives.com/articles/henryrose.html and a somewhat glamorized account here: www.kmcmag.com/features/KMC15_featureF.pdf
Mr. Waldie was the Principal owner of the Edgewood Lumber Company which was in the business of manufacturing rough and dressed lumber, shingles, lath, and assorted wood products. Mr. Waldie bought into the company in 1908 and was the principal owner through 1928. By May 1910 he had moved the operations from Edgewood, B.C. to what was originally Sproat’s Landing, near present day Castlegar. To provide wood for the Castlegar mill, known locally as “Waldie’s Mill,” the company bought and sold timber licenses. By January 1929, the corporate name had changed to William Waldie and Sons Ltd. The Mill closed its doors in 1961 and was razed by fire in 1963.
A history of the Mill may be viewed here:
www.basininstitute.org/home/album/castlegar_08.html
This Mill was not the precursor to “Celgar” as previously noted in the 2007 Heritage Home Tour brochure. "Celgar" purchased her interests (licenses) in 1952. Celgar was not located on the site of the Waldie Mill.
This home was part of the 2007 Heritage Home Tour.
The photograph of the "Invitation to a Hanging" is from Touchstones Nelson http://www.touchstonesnelson.ca/
