White Otter Castle
Encyclopedia
White Otter Castle is an elaborate 3-story log house built on the shore of White Otter Lake, about 35 kilometres (21.7 mi) south of Ignace, Ontario
, Canada, by eccentric hermit James Alexander "Jimmy" McOuat.
The "Castle" is a sturdy log house which stands 3 stories tall (29 feet), with a turret extending up an additional floor (41 feet). The main part of the building measures 24 by 28 feet, while an attached kitchen area adds a further 14 by 20 feet to the floorplan.
McOuat built his "castle" single-handedly, beginning in 1903, and finally completing it in 1915. He felled and cut all of the red pine
logs himself, and hoisted the finished, dovetailed beams (some of them weighing as much as 1600 lbs) into place by means of simple block and tackle
.
The Castle was built with the intention of a dowry for a lady McOuat, wanted to marry, of whom he met and corresponded with through a letters.
Jimmy McOuat drowned while netting fish in 1918. His grave is next to the Castle.
Ignace, Ontario
Ignace is a township in the Kenora District of Northwestern Ontario, Canada, located at Highway 17 and Secondary Highway 599, and on the Canadian Pacific Railway between Thunder Bay and Kenora. It is on the shore of Agimak Lake, and, as of 2006, the population of Ignace was 1,431.The town was...
, Canada, by eccentric hermit James Alexander "Jimmy" McOuat.
The "Castle" is a sturdy log house which stands 3 stories tall (29 feet), with a turret extending up an additional floor (41 feet). The main part of the building measures 24 by 28 feet, while an attached kitchen area adds a further 14 by 20 feet to the floorplan.
McOuat built his "castle" single-handedly, beginning in 1903, and finally completing it in 1915. He felled and cut all of the 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...
logs himself, and hoisted the finished, dovetailed beams (some of them weighing as much as 1600 lbs) into place by means of simple block and tackle
Block and tackle
A block and tackle is a system of two or more pulleys with a rope or cable threaded between them, usually used to lift or pull heavy loads.The pulleys are assembled together to form blocks so that one is fixed and one moves with the load...
.
The Castle was built with the intention of a dowry for a lady McOuat, wanted to marry, of whom he met and corresponded with through a letters.
Jimmy McOuat drowned while netting fish in 1918. His grave is next to the Castle.
