KAWARTHA LAKES-In 1839, James Hartley Dunsford, a rector, vicar and justice of the peace from Gloucester, England arrived with his children James Wicks, Hartley, Augusta-Agnes, Lydia, Caroline, George and Martin to settle on the north shore of Sturgeon Lake between Fenelon Falls and Bobcaygeon. In the 1830s, a large proportion of the immigrants coming to this area were aspiring young gentlemen—typically bachelors, who were younger sons from wealthy families. They would not inherit the family fortune back home and were looking for a way to live as gentlemen in the new continent. In this social circle, the Dunsfords were unusual, because they emigrated as a family—bringing with them young ladies.
The Dunsfords named their 720-acre estate the Beehive, building what was a grand log house for its time and place. Ordinary folk lived in a log shanty. The house was symmetric, entered through a verandah into a central hallway, with a staircase ascending to the second floor. On the left was a bedroom and dining room, with kitchen and library on the right. Upstairs there were four bedrooms. In the 1830s, even for a wealthy family like the Dunsfords, children would not expect to have their own room.
Being backwoods gentry always had a degree of ridiculousness to it—for instance, one gentleman pretentiously ate with silver cutlery on a table formed of a door and two barrels, before enjoying the evening with cigars, snuff and fine whiskey. The Dunsfords were perhaps more conspicuous than the rest, bringing with them a piano, harp, carriage and driver. Neighbour Anne Langton remarked, “I hope that they do not forget to bring a good road too.” They even imported roses for their gardens.
The aspiring genteel farmers tended to hire labourers to do much of the farm work for them. Within a few years, it became apparent that managing a farm would not be profitable in Canada as it was in Britain. One by one, the gentry found other occupations. Because they had education, most of the young men became professionals or politicians. James Wicks became a politician; George and Martin became lawyers; and Hartley was a banker and the Land Registrar of Victoria County. Lydia married John Langton (Anne’s brother—Canada’s first Auditor General), Augusta Agnes married neighbour Henry Thomas Wickham, while Caroline married Mossom Boyd (Timber King of Bobcaygeon), after her first fiancée Morgan Jones drowned while crossing Sturgeon Lake to visit her. James Wicks briefly partnered with his brothers-in-law Mossom Boyd and John Langton in the lumber business, and was operating a shingle mill on Hawker’s Creek near the Beehive (Concession VI Verulam) that was said to cut 2,000,000 shingles in 1860. But even he would move on to pursue his political career. The young coachman who emigrated with the family, George Bick, stayed in the community, becoming a future Reeve, who was instrumental in the construction of the Methodist Church and his descendants remain in the area to this day.
The Beehive would become a farm with one of the cathedral timber-framed barns that were common in the region. In the twentieth century, the materials were available to build much more comfortable homes and by 1950 the Beehive had fallen into despair and was scarcely recognizable, by then it was covered with crumbling plaster—though some of its owners like Colonel Plummer and Edgar Watt had spent a lot of money on upkeep. By the 1950s, work was underway to turn the lands surrounding the old log home into a subdivision, the Beehive Estates.
In 1957, Mavis Fuller and Len Cary of Bobcaygeon bought the Beehive and converted it into an inn. They intended that the resort would bring together the luxuries of that era, with the feel of a pioneer estate. By 1967, it featured a nine-hole golf course, with the old log barn converted into a modern club house—while featuring the old stone foundation and axe-hewn beams. Unfortunately, in 1966, the business partners’ other property (Bobcaygeon’s Rockland House) burned, with little insurance.
In 1969, Allan Stanley retired from the Philadelphia Flyers. A nine-time All-Star and future Hockey Hall of Famer, this rock-solid defenseman played alongside Tim Horton when the Toronto Maple Leafs last won the Stanley Cup in 1967—one of his four championships. Allan and his wife Barbara, bought the Beehive, becoming notable local personalities as they toured around town in a two-seat roadster convertible. At the time, Fenelon Falls was home to the Byrnell Manor Hockey Camp, and Allan Stanley would organize his own hockey camp, recruiting professional hockey players to serve as instructors, including Rick MacLeish, Bobby Baun, Fred Stanfield and Dick Duff. The boys at camp stayed in one of six cabins, named after each of the original six NHL franchises. They were bussed into to town to play hockey at the arena or visit the theatre.
In 1988, John and Patty Egan, who made a career of developing well-known hospitality properties, bought the Beehive and renamed it Eganridge Inn and Country Club. They renovated the old log home, restoring the exterior and creating six large rooms inside—two that featured fireplaces. Offering high-quality dinners, swimming, tennis and golf, they marketed Eganridge as, “unsurpassed comfort and indulgence in a country setting… truly ‘AN ESTATE OF MIND.’”
The Beehive or Eganridge has a long history of being a high-class place to enjoy life by Sturgeon Lake. Since its conversion to an inn, many locals were married there, as its restaurant also maintained a great reputation. The old barn has been converted into a restaurant, and in 2001 was expanded to include a spa, ballroom, and hotel suites overlooking Sturgeon Lake. Since about 2008, Eganridge has been operated by the Windsor Arms Hotel Group. As a resort catering to weddings, corporate retreats and couples’ getaways, it in many ways still reflects the beautiful, genteel estate that the Dunsford Family built on the north shore of Sturgeon Lake in 1839.
This story is part of our partnership with Maryboro Lodge, The Fenelon Falls Museum and was written by Glenn Walker.
If you want to make a donation to the museum, you can e-transfer to: [email protected] or mail a cheque to :
Maryboro Lodge Museum
Box 179
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