"The heritage value of the McNaught Homestead lies in its representation of early settlement buildings in the Peace River Country, its landmark value in the region, and its association with artist Euphemia McNaught." (Historic Places Canada)
The property consists of 64.15 hectares of land and seventeen buildings.
The buildings include:
- A large gothic roofed log barn
- The McNaught's original two storey log house
- A wood frame pump house
- A smaller log barn
- A log chicken coop
- A log schoolhouse
- Graineries and other outbuildings
Charles and Eliza McNaught first came to the district with the second group of settlers to the area in 1911 and homesteaded here. The McNaught Homestead has one of the most complete collections of buildings dating from the first settlement wave in the Peace River Country.
Euphemia McNaught was born in Ontario and came to Alberta with her parents in 1912. She attended school, then later briefly taught in the Appleton School, the schoolhouse that was bought by the McNaughts in 1941 and moved to the homestead to become her studio. It remained her studio for 61 years until her death, in 2002, at the age of 100 years.
Coordinates are for the entrance to the property.
McNaught Homestead
Description of Historic Place
The McNaught Homestead cultural landscape consists of seventeen buildings situated on approximately 64.15 hectares of land. The site includes residences, barns, granaries, sheds, a garage, a pump house, a chicken coop, and a school house. The original log house on the property has been covered in stucco. The McNaught homestead is located immediately west of Highway 722, just south of Beaverlodge.
Heritage Value
The heritage value of the McNaught Homestead lies in its representation of early settlement buildings in the Peace River Country, its landmark value in the region, and its association with artist Euphemia McNaught.
In 1909, members of a group of excommunicated Methodists known as the Christian Association emigrated from Ontario to the Beaverlodge area of Northern Alberta. Two years later, more settlers from central Canada, some of whom were affiliated with the Christian Association, joined them. Both groups were part of the first wave of homesteaders that set down roots in Northern Alberta from 1910 to 1914. Charles and Eliza McNaught first came to the district with the second group of settlers in 1911, though they were not affiliated with the Christian Association. During their early years on the farm, the McNaughts' farmstead included six buildings still standing on the current site: a two-storey log house, a pump house, two barns, a chicken coop, and a schoolhouse. Additional structures were added in subsequent years. One of the most complete collections of buildings dating from the first settlement wave in the Peace River Country, the McNaught Homestead has become a significant landmark in the district for its integrity and historical value.
The McNaught Homestead also possesses unique heritage value for its association with Charles and Eliza's daughter, Euphemia McNaught. Born in Ontario, Euphemia came with her family to the Beaverlodge area in 1912. A gifted artist, she graduated from the Ontario College of Art in 1929. Two of her instructors at the college were Group of Seven members' J.E.H. MacDonald and Arthur Lismer. Euphemia eventually returned to the family farmstead and set up a studio in the former Appleton schoolhouse on the property. She gained provincial and national acclaim for her depictions of the Northwest Canadian landscape.
From the Alberta Register of Historic Places
