The Eastern Townships were long a buffer between nations; first the French and British and later the British and Americans. Following a rapid influx of settlers when the Eastern Townships were officially opened for settlement in 1792, the Townships rapidly grew into a region of agriculture, industry and commerce that connected Quebec to the United States. The 1850s brought an evolution in the transportation needs of those living near Lake Memphremagog1. In addition to those traveling through the area on their way to Montreal or Boston and local business needs for transporting goods from one side of the lake to the other, tourists were discovering the charms of the lake and surrounding mountains.

Captain George Washington Fogg, a native of Georgeville, partnered with New Hampshire entrepreneur Ephraim Cross to build the lake’s first steamboat, Jenny Lind also known as the Mountain Maid1,2. Beyond the service of transporting locals and goods, they also catered to a growing number of tourists staying at the inns along the lake by building one of the first hotels that was only accessible by boat.

The Mountain House was built on lot eleven in the tenth range of Potton at the foot of Owl’s Head mountain. The land was initially a part of the crown and clergy reserve and was eventually granted to the British American Land Company (BALC) in January 4, 18473.

Cross was no stranger to the building and running of inns as he had built the Coos Hotel in 18274. After the failure of the Lancaster Bank that Cross had helped to establish and to whose patrons he owed a considerable amount on a promissory note, Cross left New Hampshire and came to Georgeville along with his son, Col. Edward E Cross4. Their family ties in the region included Ephraim’s father, Joseph, who is buried in Pigeon Hill Cemetery, Quebec5. The original Mountain House was built in 1850 with an extension added in 18516.

When Cross returned to New Hampshire in 1854, Fogg was forced to find other partners4. Fogg and Cross sold the Mountain Maid to John Molson of Montreal and Robert Harrower of Sorel7,8, although Fogg would remain as captain of the Mountain Maid, with the exception of 1853 years, until 18689. Likewise, Fogg enlisted the help of James Baker Hoit (Hoyt), husband of Rhoda Lillie, Fogg’s sister-in-law10.

James Hoyt and his wife were the caretakers of the Mountain House when it and all their possessions were destroyed by a fire on Nov 30, 185311. The rebuilding required yet another investor. Miles Knowlton, a businessman and skilled carpenter who built the houses, inn and barns of Knowlton Landing, was involved in the rebuilding of the Mountain House, which reopened in the summer of 185412,13.

Visitors to the Mountain House enjoyed an array of activities including hiking to the summit of Owl’s Head and steamboat rides the length of the lake from Newport to Magog. Zig-zagging the lake, the steamboat made stops at a number of landings including: Magog, Bryant’s Landing, Knowlton’s Landing, Georgeville, Perkins’s Landing, Mountain House, and Newport14. The railroad brought early visitors from as far away as Richmond, Virginia15,16.

Tragedy struck again Sept 1, 1855, when James Hoit’s skiff loaded with supplies was found adrift and he was presumed to have met with foul play17. Locals recalled hearing the sounds of shots being fired that night12. The lake was dragged for three weeks, but a body was never found. It was not until the following spring when it was reported that James Hoit had in fact moved to Minnesota to escape debts much to the disapproval of locals who thought it better if “he remained forever concealed, or to have in fact found a grave at the bottom of the Lake...”18,19. He later fought in the civil war in service of the Minnesota army and wrote about his capture20. Following Hoit’s departure, Mr. Buck was caretaker of the Mountain House21.

In 1858, Miles Knowlton bought the one hundred and fifty acres of lot eleven in the tenth range on which the Mountain House was built from BALC and sold it to a Vermont hotelier Alvah Jennings, who previously operated the Island Pond Hotel, Vermont22-24. The payments stretched out over several years with the final payment arriving after Miles was forced to sell 300 acres of his farm land at Knowlton Landing in a Sheriff's auction to repay an outstanding loan25-27. The sale may not have been enough to recompense Miles’s investment. When he died in 1882 from injuries sustained in a barn fire, Miles’s estate was forced to auction off his possessions to settle his remaining debts28,29.

The following years the Mountain House changed hands multiple times with managers and owners including Mr. Emmons Raymond of Boston and Charles Watkins of New York City as the Mountain House and Lake Memphremagog remained a popular tourist destination12. The Mountain House remained in operation until October 11, 1899,  when a fire that started during roof repairs destroyed the main hotel and annex30, 31.  

Sources and References:

Little JI. 2018. Fashioning the Canadian Landscape: Essays on Travel Writing, Tourism, and National Identity in the Pre-Automobile Era. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Canada.

Mills, JM. 1999. The New Mills List: Canadian Coastal and Inland Steam Vessels, 1809-1930. Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston. Accessed via http://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/105418/data?n=3

Langlois C.F. 1891. List of lands granted by the crown in the province of Quebec, from 1763 to 31st December 1890. Quebec; page 239. Accessed via https://archive.org/details/cihm_94807/page/n239

Grandchamp, R. 2013. Colonel Edward E. Cross, New Hampshire Fighting Fifth: A Civil War Biography. MacFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, North Carolina, USA.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/47320522/joseph-cross

Orleans County Gazette (Irasburgh, Vermont), 5 Jul 1851, Sat, page 1. Accessed via Newspaper.com.

Gibb, Isaac Jones Act #13023 June 3, 1851 Transfer by way of mortgage Robert Harrower to Ephraim Cross act #12984. Ratification by Ephraim Cross of mortgage from Robert Harrower for steam Mountain Maid see Act #12984. Accessed by request via BANQ Sherbrooke.

Gibb, Isaac Jones Act #12749, Feb. 1, 1851. Sale of the steamer Mountain Maid Geo Fogg and E Cross to John Molson. Accessed by request via Sherbrooke BAnQ.

Nelson Emily M. 1977. Frontier Crossroads:The People of Newport Vermont. Newport History Committee by Phoenix Pub, Canaan, New Hampshire.

Marriage record of James Baker Hoit to Rhoda Lillie 1850 Stanstead, Québec. Institut Généalogique Drouin; Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Drouin Collection; Author: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Year 1850, page 25.  Accessed at Ancestry.com.

The Vermont Patriot and State Gazette (Montpelier, Vermont). 22 Dec 1853, Thu, page 2. Accessed at Newspaper.com.

Merrill, George C. 1917. Uriah Jewett and the Sea Serpent of Lake Memphremagog. Newport, Vermont, pages 10-12. https://archive.org/stream/uriahjewettands00currgoog/uriahjewettands00currgoog_djvu.txt

Green-Mountain Freeman (Montpelier, Vermont). 29 Jun 1854, Thu, page 3. Accessed at Newspaper.com.

Weekly Examiner (Sherbrooke, Quebec). 23 July 1886, Fri, page 3. Accessed http://collections.banq.qc.ca/ark:/52327/3468138.

Morning chronicle and commercial and shipping gazette (Quebec). lundi 6 août 1855, page 3. Accessed http://collections.banq.qc.ca/ark:/52327/3594814.

 Richmond Enquirer (Richmond, Virginia). 23 Aug 1859, Thu, page 2. Accessed at Newspapers.com.

The St Johnsbury Caledonian (St. Johnsbury, Vermont). 15 Sep 1855, pg 2. Accessed at Newspapers.com.

Morning chronicle and commercial and shipping gazette. Quebec. 1 avril 1856, pg 2. Accessed http://collections.banq.qc.ca/ark:/52327/3595014 

The Burlington Weekly Sentinel (Burlington, Vermont). Thursday, April 17, 1856, pg. 2. From the Stanstead Journal. Accessed at Newspapers.com.

Military order of the Loyal Legion of the U. S. Minnesota Commandery. 1909. Glimpses of the nation's struggle, Volume 6. REMINISCENCES OF MY CONFINEMENT AS A PRISONOR OF WAR. - By Lieutenant-Colonel James Baker Hoit, Third Minnesota Infantry. Accessed on Google Books.

The Gazette (Montreal, Quebec, Canada). 31 Jul 1857, Fri, Page 2. Accessed at Newspapers.com.

No. deed 113 No. Sale 4400 June 30, 1858. Sold to Knowlton M.E. Eastern three-quarters lot 11 range 10 Potton 150 acres for 177. British American Land Company Fond reel C-15686, image 591 (folio 1787). Accessed with the help of Eastern Township Resource Center http://www.etrc.ca and available online at http://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_reel_c15686

Richardson, Charles Anderson. Act #6376. 17 May 1858. Miles Knowlton to Alvah Jennings of Vermont.

Montreal herald and daily commercial gazette (Montreal, Quebec). 20 décembre 1854, page 4. Accessed http://collections.banq.qc.ca/ark:/52327/3131520 

Richardson, Charles Anderson. Act #7157. 27 Sept 1860. Assignment of promissory note by Miles Knowlton to Carlos Haskell. Relating to the sale of the Mountain House property to Jennings. Accessed by request via Sherbrooke BAnQ.

Richardson, Charles Anderson. Act #8295. 27 Oct 1863. Release and discharge by Carlos Haskell acting as attorney for Miles Knowlton to Alvah Jennings. For sale of Mountain House property. Accessed by request via Sherbrooke BAnQ.

Act 2801_RB (AL_28 Brome). Sheriff’s sale 26 July 1862. Miles Knowlton to Charles Channell. Accessed via https://www.registrefoncier.gouv.qc.ca.

The Weekly Examiner (Sherbrooke, Quebec). 18 Aug 1882, page 3. http://collections.banq.qc.ca/ark:/52327/3467928 

Saint-Louis, Henri. Act #2428. 14 July 1884. Resolution of Miles Knowlton’s estate. Accessed by request via Sherbrooke BAnQ.

Quebec Heritage News. Nov 2003. Vol 2 no 7, page 16. Assessed via http://qahn.org/. 

 Jewett, Elizabeth Liane. “Notes on Nineteenth Century Tourism on Lake Memphremagog, 1850-1899.” Journal of Eastern Townships Studies/Revue d’études des Cantons de l’Est Vol. 31 (Fall 2008): 25–43. www.etrc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/JETS_31-4-Jewett.pdf