It was on one of these vacations that Alexander MacDonald and his family spent their first summer on Prince Edward Island. After a few days in Charlottetown they moved on to the old Acadian Hotel in Tracadie. (Since destroyed by fire.) MacDonald became so intrigued with the area that he contracted George Longworth, a leading island businessman, to act as his agent on P.E.I. They bought 120 acres of land on the north shore, which included a variety of cleared farmland and forested area.

Building was underway in late 1895. He named the house "Dalvay By-The-Sea" after his boyhood home in Scotland. His house in Cincinnati, OH was also called Dalvay. Construction of Dalvay By-The-Sea was said to have run close to $50,000. Local building materials were used exclusively in the construction of Dalvay. The lower half of the house was built with Island Sandstone in its natural boulder form and the huge fireplaces were also constructed with quarried blocks of the famous reddish sandstone.

(photo of Dalvay in Cincinnati  circa 1890)

Much of the furniture was oak and mahogany. The family had travelled all over the world and bought beautiful articles of furniture, pottery and draperies in England, France, Egypt and Italy. Some very fine pieces of furniture were also purchased from established British families in Charlottetown.