This beautifully restored home with glorious panoramic views of the countryside is situated on 20 acres of fields and woods: a secluded and serene property.
The house has three bedrooms—one large with two walk-in closets, and two smaller ones. There are two bathrooms, with the upstairs one having stunning views to the east through two huge windows (extraordinary sunrises, year-round), and a tub. The downstairs bathroom features a shower. The spacious kitchen and living room still have beautiful old board walls and pressed tin ceiling and the front of the home features a screened-in porch.
Outbuildings include a spectacular 60x30 barn with a loft and four horse stalls. Its sills and enormous beams are in outstanding condition, and though currently used for storage, it could serve any number of uses.
There is a smaller barn, as well, used to house tractors in the past, as well as a workshop and a woodshed.
The property is three PIDs totalling 20 acres, about half woods and half fields. The fields have not been planted in some time, but they could be used for hay or other crops. They were cut in 2022 and 2023, but not in 2024. The woods are deep and beautiful, full of wildlife and blanketed by gorgeous moss in many places. A frog pond lies beyond an old horse ring at the edge of the paddock, and in spring sounds of the peeper frogs echo across the fields.
More details
This historic Glencoe home and farm dates to 1861, and it was owned by the same family until 1999. Locally it’s known as Hughie Donald Hughie’s, and it has long played a central role in the rural life of the Glencoe area, most notably as home to the first telephone in the district, the marks from which are still on the board walls in the living room.
A major renovation was undertaken in the early 2000s, and as a result it has many of the conveniences of a modern home with all the charm and character of a heritage property steeped in local history. Smaller rooms were opened up into larger ones, the stairs were re-routed, and an addition was put on, converting the old summer kitchen into a new bathroom, adding a mudroom/laundry room with a boot sink, and an extra room currently used as a home office. This work was done with respect for the history of the home and the region—an old window from St Joseph’s church, just up the road, was turned into a mirror in the downstairs bathroom. The tin ceilings in the kitchen are from the old MacMillan’s Market in Mabou. And the kitchen stove is now an ingeniously retrofitted old Iron Duke woodstove, converted into an electric range.
Heat is provided by a heat pump and electric heat on both floors. The house is also wired and plumbed for water baseboard heat, which used to be powered by an outdoor wood boiler. The one currently in place is not functional. It could be replaced, or an electric boiler could provide heat through the baseboards—all you’d need is in place, so future owners can decide. In the newer part of the home, including the addition and also the downstairs bathroom, there is piping for in-floor heat, which could be activated with whatever boiler solution future owners wish to put in place.
Water is from a very good well, and there’s a UV system in the cellar.
The cellar itself is a combination of stone and poured concrete, which was added at the time of renovation, and is accessed via storm door.
Recent upgrades include: fresh exterior paint (May 2025), windows in the primary bedroom (2024), electric heat in the primary bedroom, upstairs bathroom, and one of the other bedrooms (2024), shower in the downstairs bathroom (2023), new interior paint throughout the majority of the house (2022-2023).
The house has a cell signal booster so there is strong and reliable cell service in the home. Starlink internet is roof mounted, and the hardware for it, including a mesh router to extend the network, will be included in the sale.
Location
This is a tranquil and peaceful environment, perfect for people seeking a bit of country life that retains access to amenities. .Mabou is less than 20 minutes away, Brook Village Grocery is the same, and Port Hood, Whycocomagh, and Judique are each around 25 minutes or so. Once at Mabou the entire west coast of the island is in easy reach, while at Whycocomagh the Trans Canada is the direct route to Sydney or Halifax.
The Mull River runs just across the street, and when it’s full the sounds of rushing water can be heard at the house.
The Glencoe Mills hall and its famous square dances are a five minute walk up the road, as is St Joseph’s Church. The property truly is the heart of the historic Glencoe district.
