Fort Qu’Appelle Heritage Museum Blanket

The Fort Qu’Appelle Heritage Museum has launched a $500,000 fundraising campaign to purchase the McDonald House, a 28-room Victorian mansion built in 1888 by a Hudson’s Bay Company official and deeply tied to the region’s early history. 

Imagine the most serene place you can think of — like a cabin in the woods or sitting by a lake.

The house was built by Archibald McDonald, a chief factor of the Hudson’s Bay Company, and stands just steps from the museum’s main building. With ornate woodwork, pressed-tin ceilings, and crown molding featuring a full hunting scene, the property remains one of Saskatchewan’s architectural treasures.

The museum is aiming to raise $300,000 to buy the property and another $200,000 to establish a foundation that would maintain it without using public funds.

The McDonald House sits on the original site of Fort Qu’Appelle’s Hudson’s Bay trading post. The museum had considered a $2 million expansion, but acquiring the mansion is both more affordable and more historically meaningful. Michael Lee’s family bought the home in 1973, when it was the only house for sale in town.

At the time, it was split into two suites and in poor shape. Over time, the family restored the original layout and transformed it into a warm, personalized space. The community spirit is exactly what the museum hopes to preserve.

The home would provide space for exhibits, archival collections, and educational programs the current museum can’t accommodate. This mansion has been part of the fur trade and the whole development of the valley. The entire history of early Saskatchewan is tied up in this house.