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Highland Inn (Algonquin Park)
Encyclopedia
The Highland Inn was a year-round resort hotel built and operated by the Grand Trunk Railway
(GTR), in Ontario
’s Algonquin Provincial Park
.
The park was established in 1893 as a nature preserve and recreational playground. The railway through the southern and western portions of the park had been built in the 1890s by the Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway
, opened for traffic in 1897, and was purchased by the GTR in 1905. Changes to the administration policies of the park since 1893 permitted short-term leases for the construction and operation of hotels and summer camp
s to make the park more attractive to tourists.
By 1908, the GTR had become well established in Muskoka, southwest of Algonquin Park, as a resort area which the railway promoted as “The Highlands of Ontario.” In that year, the Grand Trunk Railway opened its first tourist lodge, the Highland Inn. It was an immediate success.
Located at the Algonquin Park station near the park headquarters, the Inn was a simple two-story structure with a covered verandah
across the front of its main floor, which overlooked Cache Lake. A staircase led from the station platform to the main entrance at the center of the building; there was also an inclined path leading up from the station. In its first years of operation, the hotel proved so popular that land on the west side of Highland Inn was cleared and raised wooden platforms erected, on which tents (supplied by the hotel), were put up to meet the requirements of the rapidly growing tourist trade.
In 1913 the Highland Inn was enlarged and a west wing was built, along with a three-story central tower and an addition to the east side, extending from the rear of the original structure. Only that first section of the hotel, however, was winterized. The number of rooms included 11 with bath and 61 without. Running water was supplied from a large wooden water tower at the rear of the hotel. Water was also supplied to fire hydrant
s, while a standpipe
at the station serviced steam locomotive
s.
A canoe livery
for rental of canoes and rowboats was built on the shore in front of the hotel. Above the boathouse was a covered dance floor. Other activities for guests included tennis
and lawn bowling. There were also large sitting rooms inside and a billiard room for men.
In the same year, Nominigan Camp, consisting of a main lodge with six cabins of log construction, was established on Smoke Lake. Camp Minnesing on Burnt Island Lake was also created as a wilderness lodge with similar accommodations. Only open in July and August, both were built by the GTR as affiliates of the Highland Inn.
With trains running practically to its front door, easy connections could be made from Toronto
or Ottawa
. The Highland Inn became popular with tourists from major cities of the Atlantic Seaboard
. Nominigan Camp and Camp Minnesing were accessible by wagon road. A nominal charge was made for stage service from Highland Inn. Both outpost lodges were accessible by paddle and portage from Joe Lake station. Nominigan Camp on Smoke Lake could also be reached from the Canoe Lake station.
With the 1923 takeover of the GTR by the Canadian National Railway
s (CNR), management of the three lodges came under Canadian National Hotels
' administration. Like its forerunner, the CNR continued to promote its own hotels, including those acquired from other lines, as well as privately owned hotels, lodges and camps across the railway system.
An accidental fire destroyed some of the guest cabins at Nominigan Lodge in 1926; they were not rebuilt. With the onset of the Great Depression
, Camp Minnesing was sold in 1930 to Henry Burton Sharman
. Dr. Sharman was a repeat client at the lodge on Burnt Island Lake, having held his annual religious seminars there since 1923. Nominigan Camp was sold in 1931 and became a private cottage.
The Highland Inn closed in 1932, although it would reopen in 1937 under new management, Ed and Norman Paget of Huntsville. By then, a number of changes had taken place to its surroundings. Through train service between Parry Sound
and Ottawa was curtailed in 1933 when a flash flood weakened the footings of a steel trestle on the railway, about 3 km east of the Inn. At the same time, timber trestles on the east end of Cache Lake were condemned. The railway was unable to afford repair costs and the government refused to subsidize it. Instead, a turntable was installed west of Highland Inn, enabling scheduled trains from the west to terminate there and return to Parry Sound. Construction of a highway through Algonquin Park was started, partly as a relief project for unemployed single men during the Depression. Part of this road covered the old Nominigan wagon road, west of Cache Lake.
In the 1940s, the CNR continued to include the Highland Inn in its listings in tourist pamphlets. By 1948, Highway 60
was paved through the park. Advertisements for the Highland Inn began to appear in the Canadian Automobile Association
’s Ontario Motor League Road Book.
In 1954, a new policy for Algonquin Park was announced that was designed to return the park to its original condition. As part of that policy, the Highland Inn was purchased from Ruth Paget by the Ontario Government in 1956. In the following year, it was dismantled and burned. In its place, a grove of planted red pine
trees was placed which is now mature enough to explore under the pine boughs the former site of one of Canada's grand railway hotels
.Little else remains except for some foundation remnants and an old staircase with an occasional water pipe protruding from the ground.
Grand Trunk Railway
The Grand Trunk Railway was a railway system which operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario, as well as the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The railway was operated from headquarters in Montreal, Quebec; however, corporate...
(GTR), in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
’s Algonquin Provincial Park
Algonquin Provincial Park
Algonquin Provincial Park is a provincial park located between Georgian Bay and the Ottawa River in Central Ontario, Canada, mostly within the Unorganized South Part of Nipissing District. Established in 1893, it is the oldest provincial park in Canada. Additions since its creation have increased...
.
Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway
The Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway is a historic Canadian railway that operated in central and eastern Ontario from 1897 until 1959.It was a common carrier railway, although it was primarily used to transport timber from logging operations as well as haul cargo from western Canada via the...
, opened for traffic in 1897, and was purchased by the GTR in 1905. Changes to the administration policies of the park since 1893 permitted short-term leases for the construction and operation of hotels and summer camp
Summer camp
Summer camp is a supervised program for children or teenagers conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as campers....
s to make the park more attractive to tourists.
By 1908, the GTR had become well established in Muskoka, southwest of Algonquin Park, as a resort area which the railway promoted as “The Highlands of Ontario.” In that year, the Grand Trunk Railway opened its first tourist lodge, the Highland Inn. It was an immediate success.
Located at the Algonquin Park station near the park headquarters, the Inn was a simple two-story structure with a covered verandah
Verandah
A veranda or verandah is a roofed opened gallery or porch. It is also described as an open pillared gallery, generally roofed, built around a central structure...
across the front of its main floor, which overlooked Cache Lake. A staircase led from the station platform to the main entrance at the center of the building; there was also an inclined path leading up from the station. In its first years of operation, the hotel proved so popular that land on the west side of Highland Inn was cleared and raised wooden platforms erected, on which tents (supplied by the hotel), were put up to meet the requirements of the rapidly growing tourist trade.
In 1913 the Highland Inn was enlarged and a west wing was built, along with a three-story central tower and an addition to the east side, extending from the rear of the original structure. Only that first section of the hotel, however, was winterized. The number of rooms included 11 with bath and 61 without. Running water was supplied from a large wooden water tower at the rear of the hotel. Water was also supplied to fire hydrant
Fire hydrant
A fire hydrant , is an active fire protection measure, and a source of water provided in most urban, suburban and rural areas with municipal water service to enable firefighters to tap into the municipal water...
s, while a standpipe
Standpipe
In North America, a standpipe is a type of rigid water piping which is built into multi-story buildings in a vertical position, to which fire hoses can be connected, allowing manual application of water to the fire...
at the station serviced steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
s.
A canoe livery
Canoe livery
A canoe livery or canoe rental is a business engaged in the livery of canoes or kayaks. It is typically found on or near streams, rivers, or lakes that provide good recreational opportunities...
for rental of canoes and rowboats was built on the shore in front of the hotel. Above the boathouse was a covered dance floor. Other activities for guests included tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
and lawn bowling. There were also large sitting rooms inside and a billiard room for men.
In the same year, Nominigan Camp, consisting of a main lodge with six cabins of log construction, was established on Smoke Lake. Camp Minnesing on Burnt Island Lake was also created as a wilderness lodge with similar accommodations. Only open in July and August, both were built by the GTR as affiliates of the Highland Inn.
With trains running practically to its front door, easy connections could be made from Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
or Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
. The Highland Inn became popular with tourists from major cities of the Atlantic Seaboard
Atlantic Seaboard
The Atlantic seaboard watershed is a watershed of North America along both*the Atlantic Canada coast south of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence Watershed &*the East Coast of the United States north of the watershed of the Okeechobee Waterway....
. Nominigan Camp and Camp Minnesing were accessible by wagon road. A nominal charge was made for stage service from Highland Inn. Both outpost lodges were accessible by paddle and portage from Joe Lake station. Nominigan Camp on Smoke Lake could also be reached from the Canoe Lake station.
With the 1923 takeover of the GTR by the Canadian National Railway
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
s (CNR), management of the three lodges came under Canadian National Hotels
Canadian National Hotels
Canadian National Hotels was a hotel chain under control by Canadian National Railways. In addition to their own hotels, it acquired some from rival railway companies like the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, Grand Trunk Railway and Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway...
' administration. Like its forerunner, the CNR continued to promote its own hotels, including those acquired from other lines, as well as privately owned hotels, lodges and camps across the railway system.
An accidental fire destroyed some of the guest cabins at Nominigan Lodge in 1926; they were not rebuilt. With the onset of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, Camp Minnesing was sold in 1930 to Henry Burton Sharman
H. B. Sharman
H. B. Sharman devoted his life to educating others about the life and teaching of Jesus.Henry Burton Sharman was born 12 August 1865, in Stratford, Ontario, the eldest of eleven children...
. Dr. Sharman was a repeat client at the lodge on Burnt Island Lake, having held his annual religious seminars there since 1923. Nominigan Camp was sold in 1931 and became a private cottage.
The Highland Inn closed in 1932, although it would reopen in 1937 under new management, Ed and Norman Paget of Huntsville. By then, a number of changes had taken place to its surroundings. Through train service between Parry Sound
Parry Sound, Ontario
Parry Sound is a town in Central Ontario, Canada, located on Parry Sound on the eastern shore of Georgian Bay. Parry Sound is located south of Sudbury and north of Toronto. It is the seat of Parry Sound District, a popular cottage country region for Southern Ontario residents. It is also the...
and Ottawa was curtailed in 1933 when a flash flood weakened the footings of a steel trestle on the railway, about 3 km east of the Inn. At the same time, timber trestles on the east end of Cache Lake were condemned. The railway was unable to afford repair costs and the government refused to subsidize it. Instead, a turntable was installed west of Highland Inn, enabling scheduled trains from the west to terminate there and return to Parry Sound. Construction of a highway through Algonquin Park was started, partly as a relief project for unemployed single men during the Depression. Part of this road covered the old Nominigan wagon road, west of Cache Lake.
In the 1940s, the CNR continued to include the Highland Inn in its listings in tourist pamphlets. By 1948, Highway 60
Highway 60 (Ontario)
King's Highway 60, commonly referred to as Highway 60, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The highway serves as the primary corridor through Algonquin Provincial Park, where it is dedicated as the Frank McDougall Parkway. East of Algonquin Park, the route...
was paved through the park. Advertisements for the Highland Inn began to appear in the Canadian Automobile Association
Canadian Automobile Association
The Canadian Automobile Association , commonly known as CAA, is a non-profit federation, founded in 1913, of nine clubs across Canada, providing roadside assistance service, a complete range of auto touring and leisure travel services, insurance services, and member discounts with preferred...
’s Ontario Motor League Road Book.
In 1954, a new policy for Algonquin Park was announced that was designed to return the park to its original condition. As part of that policy, the Highland Inn was purchased from Ruth Paget by the Ontario Government in 1956. In the following year, it was dismantled and burned. In its place, a grove of planted red pine
Red Pine
Pinus resinosa, commonly known as the red pine or Norway pine, is pine native to North America. The Red Pine occurs from Newfoundland west to Manitoba, and south to Pennsylvania, with several smaller, disjunct populations occurring in the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia and West Virginia, as well...
trees was placed which is now mature enough to explore under the pine boughs the former site of one of Canada's grand railway hotels
Canada's grand railway hotels
Canada’s railway hotels are a series of grand hotels across the country, each a local and national landmark, and most of which are icons of Canadian history and architecture. Each hotel was originally built by the Canadian railway companies, or the railways acted as a catalyst for the hotel’s...
.Little else remains except for some foundation remnants and an old staircase with an occasional water pipe protruding from the ground.