This was once the home of Manitoba’s first pharmacist, Dr. Alexander Fleming.

Fleming, and his family, moved to Brandon from New Brunswick in 1881. Upon his arrival, Fleming became an active member of the community, serving as Chairman of the School Board, President of the Northwest Farmers Union, and working at the Brandon Hospital in 1891.

The Fleming family home, Villa Louise, was built in 1888 by Walter H. Shillinglaw. It is one of Shillinglaw’s earliest known commissions in Brandon. Meant to be picturesque, Villa Louise is built in the Italian Villa Style, the classical architecture found in Northern Italian villas.

A wide veranda wraps around the house, framed by square columns, bracketed on one side by a bay window along the front façade. Ornate bracketed eaves hang under the low-pitched roof.

Inside the house, features include high ceilings, crown mouldings, a pressed tin ceiling in the kitchen, and marble trimmed fireplace. Cast iron radiators throughout heat the rooms. The vestibule of the house has a large wooden staircase, and double doors with etched glass ushers guests into the living room.

Later, the house would be owned by Isaac Robinson, founder of the Empire Brewing Company of Brandon.