Grand mansions and summer homes, the Barrie area has certainly had its share. Where better to build a regal getaway than on its high hills or on the tranquil shores of sparkling Kempenfelt Bay?
In time, many of these opulent houses became too big for the owner’s personal use. You can only sleep in one bedroom at a time, or so the saying goes, and some of these fine homes have enjoyed a second life as hotel, resort or a wedding venue.
This is the story of one such home. It began as the peaceful sanctuary for a family who were as wealthy as they were busy, and ended as part of a premier conference centre with some rather spooky stories attached to it.
Member of Provincial Parliament, highly decorated war hero and prominent mining magnate, Donald McDonald Hogarth was a dynamic man. Hogarth was born in Osceola, Ont., to William Hogarth, who had a dry goods shop in nearby Pembroke, and his wife, Jane McDonald, in 1879.
Donald Hogarth, like his father, was business minded. Straight out of high school, he started searching for his calling and eventually settled on real estate which paid off big time when he found himself in Port Arthur during the boom that followed the arrival of the CPR railway there.
By 1911, Hogarth was MPP for that area. His run, which lasted until 1934, was punctuated by a gap during which Hogarth served overseas in the Great War.
Hogarth, at age 35, was somewhat older than your average recruit, but he had obvious talents that were immediately put to work. His rise in the ranks was meteoric. At the highest point, Donald Hogarth was brigadier-general and quartermaster-general, in charge of all supply and transport concerns related to the Canadian Expeditionary Force.
Hogarth returned to Canada with a new bride, having married Margaret Paterson in 1917. He turned again to his political life, but had some new ambitions – to become a player in the world of gold, iron and lumber.
Once again, his rise was spectacular. His name was associated with a number of mines, both as financier and executive, but he is likely best known for the Steep Rock Iron Mine and the gold mines of Geraldton, Ont.
Lake Simcoe is far away from all of these places but maybe that was the point. In any case, it was at Big Bay Point that the Hogarths decided to build their getaway. Margaret Hogarth was very involved, perhaps due to her husband’s overflowing schedule, and it was she who handled most of the real estate deals and designing ahead of the build.
Georgian College, which operated and expanded the property from 1982 until 2017, described the Hogarth Lodge in a brochure.
“The lodge was designed so that each room faced the water and extended the full length of the building, thereby capturing southern light. It featured a majestic living room with pine beams hewn from trees on the property, and was dominated by a massive stone fireplace.”
Each week, the Barrie Historical Archive provides BarrieToday readers with a glimpse of the city’s past. This unique column features photos and stories from years gone by and is sure to appeal to the historian in each of us.
