Highland Village talk looks at architecture of Cape Breton’s Gaelic settlers

Advertisement 1 This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Breadcrumb Trail Links HomeAtlantic CanadaCape BretonEntertainment & Life Highland Village talk looks at architecture of Cape Breton’s Gaelic settlers Part of this year’s Joe Neil MacNeil Memorial Lecture Author of the article: By Contributed Published Sep 15, 2026 2 minute read The Welcome House Cultural Centre at the Highland Village Museum in Iona. The museum will host the Joe Neil MacNeil Memorial Lecture on Thursday at 7 p.m. FILE Article content A presentation at the Highland Village Museum in Iona on Thursday will explore the architectural techniques used by Nova Scotia’s early Gaelic settlers and examine theories about how this vernacular architecture developed. Article content Article content The special presentation, part of this year’s Joe Neil MacNeil Memorial Lecture, will feature researcher Richard MacKinnon. The free event will examine buildings such as houses and barns, as well as general construction techniques used by the early Scottish Gaels in Cape Breton. Article content Article content MacKinnon has spent decades researching, writing and teaching about the culture and heritage of Cape Breton. Much of his work has involved travelling the backroads of the island, documenting old log cabins and examining archival records related to buildings constructed by Scottish Gaelic settlers in Atlantic Canada. Article content While completing his PhD research, MacKinnon conducted studies in the Codroy Valley in Newfoundland, which was settled by people from Cape Breton in the mid-19th century. He said the area is “something like the Margaree Valley in Cape Breton.” Article content “I was very much interested in the architecture they were building. They were building a lot of wooden buildings primarily,” MacKinnon said. “And I was interested if they were using the same type of buildings they found in Cape Breton.” Article content VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE Article content In academic terms, this is known as vernacular architecture – a style of construction shaped by the environment in which people live, often using locally available materials and traditional methods. Article content Article content “So, I was very much interested in that stuff, and I found more evidence of the early buildings the Scots were building,” MacKinnon said. Article content Read More Annual Highland Village summer concert celebrates 65 years Cape Breton's Highland…