About Huntington Point Fairy Cottages
Four Depression-era concrete cottages in vivid colours at remote Huntington Point past Halls Harbour, built by concrete pioneer Charlie Macdonald's crew in the 1930s. View from the public beach; donation mailbox on site.
Features & Highlights
Detailed Information
Huntington Point Fairy Cottages: Depression-Era Concrete Whimsy
At the end of a gravel road past Halls Harbour, on a remote shore of the Minas Basin, four small cottages stand painted in vivid gumdrop colours - looking like something from a children's book, but built from concrete during the Great Depression. Charlie Macdonald, who founded Kentville Concrete in 1912, sent his employees to his family's camping spot at Huntington Point so they would have income through the 1930s; with no plans at all, they built five cottages from concrete reinforced with iron and driftwood, painted in bright colours. Four survive today. The fifth - shaped like a teapot - crumbled and was bulldozed into the sea.
The cottages are private, but the beach they sit above is public and flat, and viewing them from the shore has become a quiet tradition for Fundy coast explorers. The verandah roof on one is hoisted up by what appear to be tree trunks growing from the ground; the shapes are irregular, handmade, and entirely unlike anything else built in their era. A mailbox by the shore accepts donations for the cottages' upkeep - honour it if you photograph them. Members of the Charles Macdonald Museum society can even book the blue cottage for a rustic week-long stay.
Practical Information
Address: End of Simpson Road, Huntington Point, Kings County, NS (drive through Halls Harbour, pass the lobster pound, take Simpson Road to its end).
Hours: The beach is accessible at any time; visit in daylight.
Cost: Free - donation mailbox on site.
Amenities: None - no washrooms, no picnic tables. The beach is flat and step-free.
Pair With: Lobster at the Halls Harbour Lobster Pound, and the Charles Macdonald Museum in Centreville (Macdonald's own concrete house), which tells the full story. See the Bay of Fundy guide for the Annapolis Valley coast route.
