Mabel & Alexander Graham Bell Site, Baddeck, NS

July 27, 2023

We spent our last day in Nova Scotia (for this leg of the trip) visiting the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site in Baddeck.

I had not realized that Alexander Graham Bell was Canadian by choice, having been born in Scotland.

Of course, I knew that he invented the telephone, which changed his life — and everyone else’s! But he also had his finger in many other arenas. He poured energy into the study of hydrofoils in an effort to fly, invented creative ways to desalinate water, and worked with breeding a particular strain of sheep. He had one of those brains that was always at work on a problem.

(The above shows a recreation of the Silver Dart.)

His original passion, which he shared with his father, was working with the deaf community. The two Alexanders studied sound and hearing, and worked to develop assistive devices. As a fairly young man Alexander Graham Bell worked directly with deaf individuals. That was how he met his wife, Mabel. She began as his student, having become deaf at the age of five after contracting scarlet fever.

They had an interesting marriage, very egalitarian. That’s unusual enough in this day — and was certainly unique in 1877.

Check out the advice that Alexander’s father penned to Mabel:

Alexander gave his initial fortune to Mabel, who used it philanthropically. Both Alexander and Mabel did a lot of good for their community of Baddeck. Below is a bit about her, and the picture of “Mabel’s Room” which they recreated.

That evening I FaceTimed with my mother. As soon as I told her that we were in Cape Breton, she asked, “Are you going to the Alexander Graham Bell site?”

Here’s a picture from the front of the site. So lovely!

Next up: the ferry to Newfoundland!