Eccentric Settlers in Nyandarua
Carnegie House: The Scotland Connection
Currently made use of as a clinic and an administrative block at Ngobit Girls High School, Major Robert Francis Carnegie build these houses off B5 Nyahururu-Nyeri Road overlooking Mount Kenya in the early 1900s. At the verge of the great plains of Laikipia with the alpine mosaic of Aberdare Forest at hand, it is opportune that this picturesque destination inspired him to build such big houses and dream big. Next to these houses was an airstrip, now disused. There several such houses in the once white highlands, many in private lands and some owned by institutions.
Carnegie House, a common moniker for the old estate, forms an important link between the past and the present. It’s also commendable that its present tenant has continued to use the buildings with due care and commission. A decorated soldier who not only fought in WWI but also in Boer war, Major Robert Francis Carnegie migrated from Scotland in 1905 to settle, at the last, in Ngobit. By the time his wife arrived in 1913, he lived in a wattle hut with a tin roof and looked forward to the planned stone house. He died in Ngobit in 1947. His caricatures were a constant source of joy and he was always an enthusiastic settler farmer.
Born in Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland on 6 May 1869 to James Carnegie and Susan Catherine Mary Murray, Major Carnegie also had a noted military career in Africa’s war campaigns. He was in the siege of Ladysmith and was promoted to Major after a daring operation among the enemy lines to rescue one of his people who’d been captured while on a patrol. In 1905 he left the Army and bought land in the Masai Mara and grew wheat. He also hunted and ran a transport business with wagons. He bought small plots and experimented with various crops and creatures (including ostriches). He lived also in Nyando nearby Lumbwa station.
In 1908 C.W. Haywood sold cattle to Major Carnegie who had purchased 18,000 acres in the Kericho area, after being ejected from the Loitas to make way for the Maasai. He also owned a dairy farm in the Lumbwa area adjacent to the Nyando river. The Kericho venture in the Kipelat Valley was known as Hillhead Estate. It’s here that Cargenie is said to have planted the first tea bush in Kenya, but probably some animal ate it while he was back in the Army, chasing Von Vorbeck all over Tanzania. Moreover, at the same time, C.W. Haywood, then District Commission, raised another plant of tea in the prison garden at Kericho, then called Fort Ternan, thought to be the genesis and exodus of the much-vaunted tea industry in Kenya.
After the dust settled down from the Great War, Major Carnegie and his family moved back to their farm in Ngobit. Presently, Nyandarua, lightly inhabited and in excellent climate was being settled by many nationalities – Americans, French, Italians, Norwegians, Swedes, Indians, South Africans, and Germans. Carnegie, with his farm was called Ngobit farm, gave the area a Scottish connection. His spouse was Violet Mabel Carnegie. They had three sons: David James Carnegie (1915-1994), Robert Murray Carnegie (1917- 1954) and John Fraser Carnegie (1922- 2011). It is still an open question if he is related the American magnate Andrew Carnegie. Violet died in 1982. The graves of three Carnegies were desecrated by people looking for gold. There was a rumour that they were buried with treasures.
Surname and meaning Scottish (Angus and Kincardineshire): habitational name from a place called Carnegie near Carmyllie in Angus probably named in Gaelic as cathair an eige, meaning fort at the gap. The Carnegie family were descended from John of Balinhard who seems to have acquired the estate of Carnegie in the mid 14th century. The Carnegies were Earls of Southesk from 1633 to 1716.
1900 marked the arrival and influence of various settlers, notably of the British and Indians, attracted by fertile agricultural lands and untapped market for trade. These settlers and individuals, some famous as local eccentrics, left lasting legacies in Kenya’s history, contributing to its cultural, economic, and political development. The legacies of the eccentrics are still much-talked about today.
Index of Eccentric Settlers in Kenya
Kiambu County - William Northrup McMillan, Kilifi County - Johann Ludwig Krapf, Mombasa County - Allidina Visram, Makueni County - Peter Cameron Scott, Machakos County - Frank O'Brien Wilson, Meru County - Edward B. Horne, Muranga County - John Bayes, Nakuru County - Lord Maurice Egerton, Lord Delamere, Diana Delamere, Alan Root, Galbraith Lowry Egerton Cole, Lady Eleanor Balfour, Nairobi County - Karen Blixen, Lord Erroll, Alice de Janzé, Derek Erskine, Nyandarua County - Geoffrey Buxton, John W. Etherington, Robert F. Carnegie, Nyeri County - Major Eric Sherbrooke Walker, Robert Baden-Powell, William Holden, Samburu County - Rhodia Mann, Taita Taveta County - Ewart Grogan, Denys Finch Hatton, Tana River County - George G. Adamson
Greatly positioned as an agrarian hub, with increased investment in infrastructure, Nyandarua County is also famous for its scenic landscapes and montane climate. Named after the Aberdare Ranges, with an extensive presence, Nyandarua grew as an agribusiness locale but is well making a name for itself as an alpine escape.
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Explore Destinations Nearby Carnegie House, Ngobit
A Guide to Nyandarua County
A Summa Digest of Nyandarua
About Nyandarua Way Back When
45 Destinations in Nyandarua County, arranged as one would visit these - south, north then west - with aid of in-depth narratives, images, strip maps and distance chart:
Matches Dam, Gitwe Viewpoint, Mawingu Camp Kenya, Heni Viewpoint, Kijabe Hills, Kinangop Step, Ragia Forest Trail, Sasumua Dam, Sharpe's Longclaw Nature Reserve, Elmer Resort & Spa, Cheese House, Njabini, Elephant Hill, Aberdare Range, Kinangop Plateau, Mount Kipipiri, Mount Kipipiri Golf & Resort, Wanjohi Valley (Happy Valley), Davida Getaway, Wanjohi Falls, Kenungu Falls, Buxton House, Rurimeria Forest Trail, Mount Satima, Table Mountain, Dragon’s Teeth, Cedar Retreat (Log Cabin), Ndaragwa Falls, Ndaragwa Forest, Maverick Camp Rondavels & Farmstay, Malewa Bundu Camp, Plovers Eco Camp, Dundori Forest, Lake Ol Bolossat, Samawati Conservancy, Olrok Farm House, Laikipia Plateau, Tafaria Castle & Center for Arts, The Fairway Residence, Carnegie House (Ngobit Girls School), Knessiah Jewish Synagogue, Thompson Falls
Know More About Nyandarua County: Geography, Land-Use, Highlights, Population, Roads - including strip maps, Airports, Climate & National Monuments
Thanks to its high altitude, all of Nyandarua experiences pleasant to low temperatures. Highest temperatures are in the month of December that bears an average temperature of 25oC: Lowest in July, 14oC.
To the east, the Aberdare Range traverses its border with Nyeri County. End to end, the Aberdare Range, with vast presence in Nyandarua is a whooping great 565 km.