The reason Janet Carlile and her husband are selling their home is a common one, but the home itself is anything but ordinary.
The home they’ve nicknamed the Blue Limestone Estate was built in 1837 by lumber baron Alexander McDonell in Sandpoint, near Arnprior.
It’s on sale for a cool $1 million.
“This is the last 19th century lumber baron’s house left in private hands along this river,” Carlile said while giving CTV Ottawa a tour.
“This house I think was the symbol of his success - (McDonell) saw Sandpoint as the major stopping point for the lumbermen going up and down the river.”
Lord Elgin was among the guests at the house, a visit marked by murals painted in his honour that are now covered by drywall.
“Since the 1830s this house has been seen by every lumber man, every boat, every water skier, every lumber boom, everything that has come up and down this river,” Carlile said.
“That’s really quite a stunning thought.”
She said they’re selling their home of more than a decade because it’s too big now that their children gave moved away.
“It’s sort of with mixed thoughts because I will never live in this history again,” she said. “But it’s time to pass the torch on to someone else who has the same sort of passion that we have.”
With a report from CTV Ottawa’s Catherine Lathem
