![]() Over his fifty years at Deerhurst, Maurice introduced 20th-century conveniences such as electricity, hot and cold running water, and a large commercial kitchen. When the catch was a lake trout, however, it was prepared for dinner and paraded through the dining room on the best silver tray, to the cheers of all the guests. When a bass was caught, it was cleaned (for fifteen cents) and prepared by the kitchen for breakfast. In addition to swimming, canoeing, tennis and golf at the nearby Pen Lake Golf Course, Maurice took guests out fishing in one of the cedar-scrip fishing boats. Many of these guests marked their children’s heights on the cottage walls and stored personal belongings in private closets. Known as a superlative raconteur who was always telling jokes and stories, Maurice successfully ran Deerhurst from 1925 to 1971, steering the resort through the Depression (boosted by the thousands of tourists stopping on their pilgrimage to see the Dionne quintuplets near North Bay) and the transition from steamship to car travel.ĭeerhurst’s clientele at this time, who were mostly American, returned year after year and some even stayed in cottages they financed themselves. Charles retired in 1925 at the age of 60, selling Deerhurst to his only surviving son, Maurice, who had already started assuming the day-to-day management of the resort.Īfter his return from World War I, Charles’ son Maurice, took over the management of Deerhurst and carried on the resort’s established reputation for ‘gracious hospitality.’ Like his father, Maurice had much to do with the ambience of Deerhurst. The days were leisurely, structured only around mealtimes, and activities included swimming, rowing in a skiff, tennis and fishing. Charles even took guests on fishing and hunting excursions in Algonquin Park. Not until 1972 would there be more than two phones at the resort. Deerhurst now boasted of steamers twice a day, plus telegraph and telephone service and daily mail delivery (one of the highlights of the day for both staff and guests). In 1900 Charles added the first of several cottages. In just a few years, Deerhurst was filled with tourists and some even erected tents when all the rooms were taken. During its first season, Deerhurst hosted a total of two guests who paid $3.50 per person per week, which included three meals a day! Originally only accessible by steamship, Deerhurst became the first major summer resort in Huntsville and boasted 18 bedrooms, a dining room, a smoking lounge and a verandah. In fact, he was inspired to build the resort by Captain George Marsh, who had started up the Huntsville Lake of Bays Navigation Company and needed passengers for his steamboats. Waterhouse built Deerhurst Resort on a prime four-acre plot on Peninsula Lake for which he paid $100. In 1896, a young, aptly named English entrepreneur named Charles W. Deerhurst guests erected tents when the lodge was full
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