The
manse was constructed in 1886, by carpenter William Gordon and bricklayer Valentine Brooks, to serve as a residence for the pastor of
St. Paul's Presbyterian Church. In 1911, Montgomery and Macdonald, newly married, moved to the town of Leaskdale, Ontario (now part of
Uxbridge). As Macdonald was the pastor of St. Paul's Church, they took up residence in the manse. In her journals, Montgomery wrote that she enjoyed the rural environment of Leaskdale, but complained of the house's "ugly" design and its lack of a bathroom and toilet. Montgomery's three children, Chester, Hugh and Stuart, were born in the Leaskdale Manse between 1912 and 1915. Montgomery wrote 11 of the 22 works published in her lifetime in the manse, and
Rainbow Valley, one of the books in the
Anne of Green Gables series which tells the story of a Presbyterian minister and his children, draws heavily on Montgomery's life in Leaskdale. In her posthumously published journals, Montgomery wrote extensively of the manse and its surroundings. A 2010 restoration project used Montgomery's writings about the house's architecture and furnishings as a reference. In 1926, the couple moved from Leaskdale to
Norval, Ontario, when Macdonald became minister of two churches in
Halton County. When Montgomery left the manse, she wrote of "The beautiful woods behind Mr. Leask's, the leaf-hung corner of the side road, the lovely hill field beyond with the elms on their crest. I love these things and grieve to leave them". In 1965, the Ontario Historic Sites board commemorated the manse with a plaque. The Leaskdale Manse was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1994 for its significance in Lucy Maud Montgomery's life. The Township of Uxbridge purchased the manse in 1992. In 2010, the Lucy Maud Montgomery Society of Ontario undertook a restoration project, and in 2013 they assumed ownership of the property. The manse is now operated as a museum. ==Building==