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HomeNewsRemembering The Night The Rockland House In Bobcaygeon Burned

Remembering The Night The Rockland House In Bobcaygeon Burned

This is part of our partnership with Maryboro Lodge The Fenelon Falls Museum.

KAWARTHA LAKES-On April 2, 1904 – The Rockland House in Bobcaygeon burned down.

The original Rockland House was the first thing that many visitors to Bobcaygeon would notice—by design being a perfectly situated accommodation. Overlooking the lock, right in front of the wharf, and on the corner of the main street, when travellers came to town on a steamboat, the beautiful limestone hotel was the local landmark. Commissioned by Joseph Goulais, it opened in 1882, but its owner died the next year. His widow carried on the business for a few years, then leased and eventually sold the property to Harvey Thompson.
The first Rockland House
On the night of April 12, 1904, the Rockland House lit up the sky of Bobcaygeon, and the best that local firefighters could do was save the rest of the town.
Rockland House Then and Now
By morning, the limestone walls stood empty. Work began the same year on the second Rockland House, which was initially just a smaller wooden hotel along the canal.

It was subsequently expanded around the corner, like its predecessor, but it too succumbed to fire on November 18, 1966.

Maryboro Lodge, The Fenelon Falls Museum has been hit hard by the pandemic.

If you want to make a donation to the museum, you can e-transfer to: curator@maryboro.ca
or mail a cheque to :
Maryboro Lodge Museum
Box 179
50 Oak Street
Fenelon Falls, ON
K0M 1N0

 

 

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