Up the Gatineau! Article
This article was first published in Up the Gatineau! Volume 11.
Kingsmere
A. deL. Panel
Note: This essay was dated about 1979 and the facts therein should be related to that time and before.
I was introduced to Kingsmere, Quebec in 1935. I came to Ottawa in December 1934 and while skiing in the winter of 1934-35 I had the opportunity of seeing Kingsmere Lake and some homes but it was a very sketchy visit and certainly it took the summer for me to appreciate the beauties of Kingsmere and its lake.
Through friends I was invited to picnic and swim and I soon met many members of the community. At that time there were many cottages and only a few year-round homes. There has been much change since 1935.
I soon discovered that Kingsmere has an historical interest and, of course, was tied in with the neighbouring villages of Old Chelsea and New Chelsea and the Gatineau Valley. Few people know that the earliest settler, Nicolas Gatineau, came to the Gatineau area in 1649. He was reputed to be a clerk with the 100 Associates and a notary and clerk of the court at Three Rivers and Montreal.
Old Chelsea started out with one private building in about 1830 which was the home of Mr. H.B. Prentiss who later kept the post office and a store. I am told a Mr. Padden who lived in the Kingsmere mountain area went to school in Chelsea a short time after that. He reported on the residents until 1890 when he left the area.
The early pioneers went to the Kingsmere mountain-top area in the early 1840‘s and started their lives in log cabins. They quickly established themselves, clearing the land and starting gardens. Some raised crops of hay and oats but most of the produce ran to potatoes, corn, cabbages and some other vegetables. Wheat was not a success due to the light soil. Apple trees were planted in open spaces which had more success and a few can still be found in the area now.
Some names of those early settlers were supplied by Mr. Padden — Paddy Mullen, Jerry Keogan, Mike Fagan, Hugh McGuire, Dennis Kennedy, Paddy McClosky, Michael Ryan, Paddy Bradley. All the men were tillers of the soil. Michael Ryan and Paddy Bradley were also tailors. They had no shops on the mountain but followed the practice of tailors of the period by travelling the countryside with their tailor's kit and sewing from house to house.
These settlers were reported to be a generous and hospitable lot. They certainly were not well off but never turned a stranger or visitor away. Every home was full of young people as these settlers all had large families. The boys and girls were always getting up dances and other festivities.
Today there are few signs left on the mountain of this cheerful Irish colony. One of these is the Ridge Road which they built as their main communication link with Old Chelsea. It is so well known now to skiers and hikers. There were, of course, other outlets from the area some of which still exist. As an example, there is McClosky's Road down to Meach Lake. Another ran to Lariault's Hill which connected them with the Aylmer area. Another was down the side of the mountain to the "Hollow". The road went down some distance from Lariault‘s Hill on the north-west side. So much for the top of the mountain. However, readers are reminded of the extensive trails now established and serviced by the National Capital Commission through this mountain area. White exploring them it can be interesting to find traces of this early colony: many of whom likely left Kingsmere mountain area for the attractive sounding western Canada farming opportunities.
Old Chelsea, we might say, started about 1830 from Mr. Prentiss‘s store and post office and the wooden Catholic church and school. The new church is dated from 1879 and was built of “Cookstown Road" stone which was the same stone used for the Parliament Buildings. Almost the whole community brought stone for the church bit by bit. One of the Hendrick family, for example, used to take a load of logs in for the Parliament Buildings, leaving at 3 a.m. and returning about 10 p.m. with a load of stone for the church.
The first town hall was built in 1876. The minutes of several Council meetings during early 1876 report approval of plans and the securing of tenders. It is interesting to note the small amounts involved in the discussion at that time compared to today. Various motions in the Council minute book were approved at different meetings involving outlays as follows - one meeting voted $500.00 to build the town hall, 36 x 24 feet, another voted $10.00 to pay for the plans for the town hail. Another voted $20.00 to superintend the building project and another meeting voted $19.00 to pay to furnish the town hall.
This town hall has since been replaced by a large new building including police and fire departments. The original was renovated in 1938 and now serves various community events.
The original school was in a log building near the site of the present Roman Catholic school and was attended by both Roman Catholic and Protestant children. The teachers, according to Mr. Padden, in the sixties, were David Evans, Annie O'Keefe and Judy Sullivan.
About this time Old Chelsea had a small sawmill, a tannery and a shingle mill. The tannery was owned by the Church brothers and the mills by Joseph Chamberlain.
Lumbering was the basic industry around Old Chelsea. In later years some general business activity spread to New Chelsea now known as Chelsea, a mile east of Old Chelsea.
With the movement of timber it was natural that hotels developed. These hotels were small and some were converted private homes. Much lumber was cut in the Mousseau and Meach Lake area. It was floated down the lakes and creeks. Some of it was loaded at O'Brien's beach at the end of Meach Lake and wagons took it through Old Chelsea to Ottawa or to the railway station at New Chelsea. Old Chelsea was a resting place — hence the need for the hotels and bars!
One of the first hotels was "Dean's Hotel", built by Ed. Dean during this period. It was built next to the town hall and was occupied for many years by the Trudeau family which has been connected with the area for a long time.
Dunn's Hotel is now a prominent land mark in Old Chelsea as it is opposite the main corner of the Chelsea Road and the Scott Road. It is a typical large building of the era and was built as a residence by Josiah Chamberlain whose grandfather and his three uncles followed Philemon Wright when he came to Hull from the United States to set up Wright's mills. This house was purchased by John Dunn a short time after it was destroyed by fire in 1900 but was re-built in 1901 — almost a replica of the original. The main changes are inside where steel beams support the second floor. Both inside and outside this house requires close attention as an historical house of this early period of Chelsea life. A picture which I have of the many hotel guests standing on the front verandahs gives one an idea oi its popularity. In its early days there were large stables at the west side of the building. A memo that I have mentions a large dining room at the back of the building and a bar ran the length of the east side.
There must have been some lively times in Old Chelsea in the early days when the timber cutters and drivers came out of the bush, especially on the week-ends. However, things quieted down when, in 1907, all licensed premises were closed in the municipality with a new liquor act and it is only in recent years that this has been changed.
Another house of this period which has been preserved is the Brigham — Chamberlain house which used to be on the west bank of Chelsea Creek adjacent to the large barn, the latter still standing on its original site. This is near the bridge and about opposite Dunn's Hotel.
This location was the Chamberlain farm and when the Meach Lake road was re-routed some years ago the house was moved to the Padden Road and a summer kitchen was removed. The first occupants were Mr. and Mrs. Charles Brigham whose father, Thomas Brigham, built a saw and grist mill on Chelsea Creek. At this time there were several other sawmills started in this area and this helped the settlers who were coming in and building their own homes.
Kingsmere as a summer resort began in the early 1880's. What is called Kingsmere is that land which lies around King's Lake (or mere}. Considerable research has been done about the name especially of King's Mountain. The late Mr. Arthur Bourinot, historian, author, poet and along time resident was one who did much research into the name. The Lake was originally called Loon Lake because of the loons which frequented the lake. It was then changed to Jeff's Lake by a resident and then to Kingsmere because of the mountain. After much investigation Mr. Bourinot stated that he believed it was named after an early settler, a John King. Discussion with descendants of early settlers seemed to prove this. It was not named because of the Prime Minister or because of Dr. King of the Canadian Government observatory.
John Bourinot, Arthur Bourinot's father was one of the first summer settlers and built a cottage on the north side of the lake. King Mountain was the important landmark 1215 feet above sea level. From this point, in 1905, was started the Geodetic Survey Triangulation System. Actually, from King's Mountain, nineteen other triangulation points are visible on a clear day, the farthest being about fifty miles away at North Sharbot Lake. Others visible are Smiths Falls, Renfrew, Spencerville and Plantagenet. For a long time a surveyor’s lantern flashed on the hilltop. Then a large cross was erected by Catholic residents and painted a vivid red. Later, this was covered with tin and it flashed in the sunlight. The cross finally collapsed and the pieces were thrown over the mountain cliff.
It is generally accepted that Raiff Kenney was the first resident at Kingsmere. He had Timothy Sheehan build his house and later he sold it to him. Mr. Kenney was head carpenter at Gilmour's Mill at Chelsea. Mr. Sheehan later sold the house to James Murphy (father of "Bill" Murphy of Kingsmere stage lame), and finally it came into the possession of Captain Wattsford. It has since been demolished. It was well known over the years to tourists as it had a small golf course on the property.
The Wattsford's operated their home for tourists in the summer. Another settler was a Mr. Warwicker, a harness maker, forbear of the well known Ottawa family of saddlers of that name. A farmer named Jeffs, in 1863, owned the biggest part of both sides of the lake. Mr. Jeff’s holdings on the north side of the lake were bought in either the late 1870’s or the early 1880's by J.G. Bourinot, clerk of the Township. The west end of the lake where the family of the late Charles Bryson lived was, 1863, owned by William Dunlop. The part of the lake front that is north of the approach to Lariault's Hill was owned by a Mr. Time. This land was later owned by John Grimes of Ottawa. The land back of the south side of the lake front, where Rev. Dr. Herridge used to live, was owned by a Mr. Hyland. Land in this locality was also owned (in 1863) by three families of Blairs, John, Hugh and James. Mr. M.M. Pyke later lived on part of one of the Blair farms. A Charles Walker also owned some land on the south side of the lake and Joseph Fleury, property on the north side. The holdings of Joseph Fleury were later purchased by Mr. J.A. Seybold of Ottawa.
* * *
To avoid any duplication of the material in the previous article on William Lyon Mackenzie King a section of this article, relating to the same subject, has been deleted.
* * *
Moving along to other residents at Kingsmere in this early period and starting north from the late Mr. King's farm at the corner of the Swamp Road and the Barnes Road we find the house now owned by Lt. Col. & Mrs. (Dr.) Miskelly which then was occupied by the late Mr. S. Carroll; Mr. R. Quain‘s road follows, running off the Swamp Road and living on it were Mr. H. Bostock and Mr. R. Quain. The Bostock property is now owned by the N.C.C. Next, at the corner of Kingsmere Road and Swamp Road, the property was owned by Mr. Scott and operated as the “Candlelight” Tea Room — a very popular dining place. Turning east down the Kingsmere Road we find the house built by Mr. Graham Towers, head of the Bank of Canada, now owned by Mr. R. Toller and another house owned by Mr. Duncan MacTavish which is now owned by a son. Crossing the road we find Mr. W. Irving who owned several acres and a year-round house. Since that time, three new homes have been built in this area. Next we see the Dunn family home where they ran the post office in the summer. At the top of the next hill is the old McLean farm house known as Mountain Lodge which operated for tourists, with rooms and meals, and was extremely popular with skiers in the winter. Later it was operated by Mr. & Mrs. E. Quipp. Close by was Mr. Paul Horsdal's house used as a summer home. Later, Mr. Quipp, Mrs. Dunn, Mr. C. Anderson and Lt. Col. P. Martin built homes close by. The Butterworth family also had a summer place in this area. Going back up the hill to Kingsmere Lake, Mr. G. Masson had a large solid log cottage which was used in a popular Canadian movie at about this time “The Man from Glengarry".
The J.R. Booth estate owned several acres on the north side of Kingsmere Road and a very large summer home with stables, etc. These were purchased by the National Capital Commission some years ago and later the buildings were demolished. The Crannell family owned a big summer home close by and, later on, Mr. McKinley, a relative, built two permanent homes.
Lieut. Gen. E.L.M. Burns also owned a cottage close by. Moving along Kingsmere Road westerly we note the farmer's house which belonged to the Booth estate which later was sold and now is owned by Mrs. Charron. Then there is a cottage on the hill owned by the S. Wilson family and another on the road owned by the Hyland family. On the next hill is a cottage that was owned by the Seybold family and later sold to the MacTavish family. The late Mr. Allistair MacTavish lived in it in 1935. It, and land adjacent, was bought by Captain Barry German who later built a year-round house. Much of this area land belonged to the Grimes family from the lumbering days and several Grimes families had cottages on the hill. The late Brig. Goodeve built a year-round home close to the road and farther up the hill were cottages owned by the Connor family. Mr. R. Quain bought several acres from the Grimes family and later three or four year-round houses were built.
At the end of the Lake much of the property was owned by the Bryson family. Cottages were built there owned by the Southham, McLean, Castonguay and Code families. Mr. Mulvihill‘s family were very early settlers. Starting back on the south side of the lake Mr. Gordon Gowling had a large cottage as did the Smart family and Mr. Arthur Bourinot. Later Mr. Graham Spry purchased the Smart house. Now we are at Mr. King‘s lakefront and on the east side was the Robinson cottage, then the Stitt cottage, then Dr. McCurry, Major Gen. Kennedy, P. Harris, Dr. S. Service. We are now back to Mr. King's "Farm" property and across from it was Mr. L. Freiman‘s summer home.
The Barnes Road, named after a hermit who lived in the area in the early 1800's, runs east and west south of Kingsmere Lake and cottages on it were owned by the Panet, Patterson, Howard and Ryan families. A very early settler in this area was a Mr. Moore. On Mr. King's property, his close friends - Mr. & Mrs. Patteson occupied a large cottage.
There have not been any major changes in Kingsmere since this time except in the ownership of some properties, the building of a few permanent homes and the modernising of some old ones.
It is interesting to note that during the era before 1935 the summer residents at Kingsmere lived under very different conditions. The late Arthur Bourinot, an early resident, mentioned this to me several times. Transportation was a problem. Mr. William Murphy ran a stage to the station at Chelsea to meet the morning and evening trains arranged for commuters. Some residents used horses and buggies. A few actually walked to the station and back. Some drove directly into the city.
When city residents moved to their cottages for the summer most hired a van with two horses to take extra furniture, pianos, etc. This trip back and forth took most of a day. Later people took a motorized van, as we did, to move our electric refrigerator, washers, trunks, etc. Now most places are completely furnished and self contained with electricity, telephone, etc.
Plumbing in the early period was unknown. The custom was an outhouse in two sections, one for adults and one for children. There was no running water, just a pump and a well. Barrels collected rain water. In dry spells water would be brought up from the lake in barrels by cart by one of the farmers.
Bathing was usually done in a large round metal tub with a small seat on one side and a metal apron to prevent splashing water on the floor, likely in the kitchen, where the water was. It was also done at the lake in bath houses which most cottages had. These were partly on the shore and partly in the water. The water part of the house just had three sides and no roof. A person stood in the water part and bathed and then stepped up into the dry part. Some of these were both boat houses and bath houses.
Cottages secured their milk, cream and eggs from the farmers and most supplies came from Chelsea. The Fleury farm supplied most. It is hard to visualize now that there were meadows and open fields in the areas. now covered with trees, where the cows grazed. Some of the land deeds gave the farmers the right to water their cattle at the lake, passing over the cottagers' lands.
This reminds me that we have an odd situation at Kingsmere because the bottom of the lake has various owners as well as the shore. Most of the land deeds adjoining the lake mention a portion of the lake bottom. Boats with motors have always been banned by the mutual agreement of the property owners. In recent years we have had a very active sailing group with organized racing. At one time there were 34 small sailboats on the lake.
Many people do not know that Kingsmere was a very active skiing area before Camp Fortune and the Ottawa Ski Club had their tremendous development. Cross country skiers using the Kingsmere mountain trails either started out from Chelsea and climbed the long mountain side up to Wattsford's lookout or drove up to Kingsmere and saved most of the climb. However, by doing this, they lost the long run back down to Chelsea on the return trip. A day’s trip involved a climb and then a slide down into Fortune Valley and the ski club chalet. Skiers packed a lunch, did trail skiing and then climbed out.
Some climbed up from Hull on the Pink Lake trail, down into Fortune Valley and then back. Grimes Hill was a favorite run out to Kingsmere Lake. I remember the Polish Ambassador. Mr. Podoski, broke both his legs running this hill when he did not know that a plow had piled up a bank of snow at the bottom of the hill which he hit.
Many skiers used Mountain Lodge for lunch. Mr. Quipp developed several hills and a "sugar bowl" with a rope tow. Later, he added two more rope tows. The hills were easy and became very popular. Many diplomatic people and families with children asked for instruction and soon classes were organized with instructors. Of great help to the success of this operation was the interest shown by an Ottawa Brewery which offered sponsorship for the training programme. Soon Mountain Lodge was booming and there were waiting lines for lunch and “aprés ski". When the Ottawa Ski Club activity greatly increased at Camp Fortune this Kingsmere programme moved on to it and gradually Mountain Lodge ceased its operation.
1979 now finds Kingsmere a well-settled suburban community of mostly year-round homes with a few summer cottages. We have an active Kingsmere Property Owners Association and a close connection in the West Hull Municipality with our other community associations.
This article, by A. deL. Panel of Ottawa, Ontario and Kingsmere, Quebec, slightly modified and abbreviated herein, was a prize-winner in the eighth Annual Essay Contest sponsored by The Historical Society of the Gatineau — 1979.