No Lincoln Logs here . . .

Eaglecrest

Qualicum Beach, BC

This charming log home was built as a staff house in the 1930's at Eaglecrest.

In the early 1930s, Major General Alexander Duncan McRAE purchased 260 acres (1.1 km²) of land situated on an ocean front bluff near Qualicum Beach, BC. In 1934 he built a country home constructed of logs that measured 200 feet (60 m) long and 50 feet (15 m) wide. He called his estate Eaglecrest. The home was designed by Vancouver architect C.B.K. Van NORMAN. General McRAE also built staff homes and ancillary farm buildings at Eaglecrest. It is assumed that the staff homes and barn were also designed by architect Van NORMAN. 

This log barn at Eaglecrest housed General McRAE's herd of horses.

General McRAE subsequently took up farming with the purchase of 2,000 acres (8 km²) of additional land near Qualicum Beach. He employed about a hundred men in its operation for the 13 or 14 years that he owned it. He bred sheep and cattle. Princess (later Queen) Elizabeth and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, stayed here for a private visit in 1951 during their honeymoon. Unfortunately the main house, later known as Eaglecrest Lodge, burned to the ground in 1969. Today, only the barn and two staff homes remain as examples of the former rustic spledour of Eaglecrest.

General McRAE was a wealthy industrialist, having major holdings in forestry and mining. In 1926 he won a seat in Parliament as the MP for Vancouver North but subsequently lost his seat it in the 1930 election. Prime Minister R.B. BENNETT then appointed General McRAE to the Canadian Senate where he served until his death at age 71.  

Another staff house built at Eaglecrest.

Senator Major General A.D. McRAE was born in November 17, 1874 in Glencoe, ON and died June 26, 1946 in Ottawa, ON). He served in the Canadian Army during World War I.