The Mullally House in Souris West
Most Likely Address
As of September 2026, currently suspect that the family home in Souris West is located at 35 Lower Rollo Bay Road.
While the family farm would be located farther north, this home would have been the spot Emmett Mullally references as his childhood home. It would then become the regular vacation spot for many of the Mullally families across Canada, including Peter Gruner, Malcolm & Jessie's son.
Why we believe this is the correct address:
1. The family recalls the house being next door to the “Platter House” which has now closed, but was located at 13 Lower Rollo Bay Rd, Souris, PE C0A 2B0. It has now re-opened as a new restaurant!
2. Emmett Mullally recalls being able to see and hear the ocean from the house, making it more likely that it was along the waterfront rather than the other side of the Lower Rollo Bay Road.
3. Photos from Miriam Gruner's summer trips line up with the front entrance area of the house currently located at 35 Lower Rollo Bay Road.
4. George Mullally is the latest owner of the house as corroborated by multiple family members. He was mentioned as living at “McCormick House, Souris Residence” in a 1982 Award for Architectural Preservation.
5. The aerial views of the area around Platter House (13 Lower Rollo Bay Road) from both 1958 and 1990 confirms a house located at the same geographical location as 35 Lower Rollo Bay Road.
1958
1990
6. Multiple family members recall their memory of the house's appearance matching what is captured on Google Maps
7. Family members recall Peter Hamilton Gruner having sold the house to a cousin, Jane Skelton, who is listed on the deeds found for the land.
Emmett's Recollections
The Mullally family home in Souris West appears repeatedly in family records and recollections, particularly in the writings of Emmett James Mullally.
In his 1952 diary, Emmett described returning to the house for the summer with members of his family. He associated the property strongly with his childhood and earlier life, particularly the front room of the house, which he described as connected with “so many childhood, boyhood and manhood memories.”
The house stood close enough to the shore that Emmett could hear the waves from inside. He also described a breastwork protecting the family's land from the sea and recalled seeing the Souris lighthouse blinking across the water at night.
The exterior had been renovated shortly before the family's 1952 visit. Emmett recorded that Ikey Cheverie installed white exterior siding over the house, with black-painted shutters, gutters, and trim. The work was completed in the autumn of 1951.
The house also served as a repository for older family possessions. In 1952, Emmett found books belonging to relatives stored in the kitchen loft, as well as the metal breast plate that had once been attached to his mother's coffin. His nephew Emmet Donahue also visited during the summer to retrieve belongings of his father, Dr. Robert Donahue, including athletic medals, books, photographs, and furniture that had remained in the house for decades.
During the summer of 1952, the house became a gathering place for several generations of the Mullally, Gruner, and Skelton families.
Land Deeds & Transfers
Parcel Number: 118653
1998_deed_for_mullally_land_skelton_to_fitts.pdf
References for Future Research
Parcel Numbers:
- 118653 (likely Emmett Mullally property),
- 118661 (additional Mullally property)