Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site

Commemorative plaque on a brick wall
Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada commemorative plaque for Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Person (1847-1922), located at the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site, 2002

The Alexander Graham Bell Museum and property were designated as a national historic site in 1952.

Commemorative plaque: 559 Chebucto Street, Baddeck, Nova ScotiaFootnote 1

Alexander Graham Bell (1845-1922)

Teacher, scientist and inventor, Bell devoted his life, with unusual success, to the benefit of mankind. Known chiefly as the inventor of the telephone, he also produced important inventions and discoveries in medicine, aeronautics, marine engineering, genetics and electrical science, and greatly advanced the methods and practices of teaching the deaf. Born in Scotland, citizen of the United States and longtime resident of Canada, Bell is himself a symbol of the international impact of his achievements. He died near here at his summer home, Beinn Bhreagh.

Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada
English plaque inscription

Description of historic place

Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site consists of a 20th-century museum building containing Bell memorabilia, set on a 10 hectare property overlooking Baddeck Bay, part of Bras d'Or Lake, and Beinn Bhreagh, Alexander Graham Bell's summer home.

General view of a building
General view of Alexander Graham Bell National historic Site, date unknown
© Parks Canada
General view of a building and visitors
General view of a building

Heritage value

Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site was established as a historic museum in 1954 to house Alexander Graham Bell memorabilia. The reason for national significance is that the memorabilia are associated with Alexander Graham Bell, teacher, scientist and inventor, a person of national historic significance.

The heritage value of this site resides in the associations of the artifacts with Alexander Graham Bell and in the site's proximity to Bell's summer home which he established in Baddeck, Nova Scotia in 1886 and occupied it for a regular part of every year until his death in 1922. There, he conducted scientific experiments in sound transmission, medicine, aeronautics, marine engineering and space-frame construction.

The HSMBC has also commemorated- Frederick Walker ''Casey'' Baldwin and Douglas McCurdy for their flight experiments in Baddeck in association with Bell.

Sources: HSMBC Minutes, April 1952 and June 1977, Commemorative Integrity Statement

The National Program of Historical Commemoration relies on the participation of Canadians in the identification of places, events and persons of national historic significance. Any member of the public can nominate a topic for consideration by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.

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