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The history of the Manse dates to 1886. The building became an Ontario Historical Site in 1965 and a National Historic Site in 1997. In 1974, white stucco was applied to the exterior limestone bricks. In 2001, Uxbridge Township removed the stucco, returning the exterior to the original brick. Today, the physical integrity of the Manse is strong, much as it was during her stay from 1911 to 1926. But, the acclaimed author would look sadly upon the peeling paint, broken windows and cracked porch. Tattered furniture no longer would provide comfort needed to inspire her stories and characters. Home and garden, dear to L. M. Montgomery and crucial to her literary imagination, are in immediate need of restoration and conservation. Bricks and mortar were the first stage of the restoration project. This is where she stood. This is what she saw.
We're cleaning up the Leaskdale Manse
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The historical plaque erected on the front lawn of the Manse property reads as follows: "[Ontario Coat of Arms] LUCY MAUD MONTGOMERY. In this house the author of "Anne of Green Gables" lived for fifteen years, and here wrote eleven of her twenty-two novels, including "Anne of the Island" (1915) and "Anne's House of Dreams" (1916). Born in 1874 at Clifton, Prince Edward Island, she was educated at Charlottetown and Halifax. From 1898 to 1911, she lived at Cavendish, P.E.I., and there began her career as a novelist. In 1911 she married the Rev. Ewan Macdonald, a Presbyterian minister, and came with him to Leaskdale. They moved in 1926 to Norval, and nine years later to Toronto, where she died in 1942. Mrs. Macdonald was awarded the O.B.E. by King George V in 1935. Archaeological and Historic Sites Board of Ontario."
