A watercolour painting of the Mountain House. By Michelle Perry
Historical Feature
By: Michelle Perry
On the evening of Sept 1, 1855, residents heard gunshots by the side of Lake Memphremagog. The next day the skiff of James Baker Hoyt (alternatively spelt Hoit), caretaker of the Mountain House at the foot of Owl’s Head, was discovered adrift loaded with supplies and no occupant. Was it foul play or an accident?
The lake was dragged for three or more weeks, while a coffin was built in preparation for the worst.. A body was never found and the coffin was put to use after another man, John “Silent” Diamond Jr., drowned in the lake.
James Hoyt had been born in Weare, New Hampshire, and moved to Georgeville, Lower Canada, marrying Rhoda Lillie. His brother-in-law, Captain George Fogg, had a grand vision for businesses on Lake Memphremagog including commissioning the first steamship to sail the waters, the Mountain Maid, and building a hotel only accessible by water, the Mountain House. Captain Fogg partnered with James Hoyt and Ephraim Cross, a hotelier and banker who left the United States after the failure of the Lancaster Bank.
Originally built in 1850 with an extension added in 1851, the Mountain House hosted numerous guests from all over the country and the United States as the region quickly developed into a destination for relaxation and commerce. On Nov 30, 1853, a fire destroyed the hotel and all the belongings of its caretaker James Hoyt and his wife. With Ephraim Cross returning to the United States the following year, George Fogg sold the Mountain Maid to John Molson of Montreal and Robert Harrower of Sorel to raise money. Fogg also partnered with Miles Knowlton of Knowlton Landing to rebuild the Mountain House, which reopened in 1854. Four years later, Miles Knowlton bought the Mountain Houses’ land from the British American Land Company and sold the hotel to Alva Jennings. Unfortunately, full payment wasn’t recieved until after Miles Knowlton went bankrupt.
And what of poor James Hoyt? Uriah Jewett penned an infamous poem about Hoyt’s supposed drowning. It turned out to be neither an accident nor foul play. Hoyt resurfaced in Minnesota the following spring. He had escaped not only the country but the debts he had incurred, including to Uriah Jewett. Misfortune continued to plague Hoyt as he joined the Union side during the Civil War only to be captured and imprisoned. When word reached the Townships about Hoyt’s reappearance, it was reported that locals thought it better if “he remained forever concealed, or to have in fact found a grave at the bottom of the Lake…”
The Mountain House would change hands several times over the years and continued to be a popular destination for travelers of Lake Memphremagog. On October 11, 1899, a fire ignited by roof repairs destroyed the main hotel and annex. It was never rebuilt.
Resources:
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.
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.
Grandchamp, R. 2013. Colonel Edward E. Cross, New Hampshire Fighting Fifth: A Civil War Biography. MacFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, North Carolina, USA.
Green-Mountain Freeman (Montpelier, Vermont). 29 Jun 1854, Thu, page 3. Accessed at Newspaper.com
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/47320522/joseph-cross
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
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
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.
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
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
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
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
Montreal herald and daily commercial gazette (Montreal, Quebec). 20 décembre 1854, page 4. Accessed http://collections.banq.qc.ca/ark:/52327/3131520
Morning chronicle and commercial and shipping gazette (Quebec). lundi 6 août 1855, page 3. Accessed http://collections.banq.qc.ca/ark:/52327/3594814
Morning chronicle and commercial and shipping gazette. Quebec. 1 avril 1856, pg 2. Accessed http://collections.banq.qc.ca/ark:/52327/3595014
Nelson Emily M. 1977. Frontier Crossroads:The People of Newport Vermont. Newport History Committee by Phoenix Pub, Canaan, New Hampshire
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
Orleans County Gazette (Irasburgh, Vermont), 5 Jul 1851, Sat, page 1. Accessed via Newspaper.com
Quebec Heritage News. Nov 2003. Vol 2 no 7, page 16. Assessed via http://qahn.org
Registre Foncière du Québec. 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
Richardson, Charles Anderson. Act #6376. 17 May 1858. Miles Knowlton to Alvah Jennings of Vermont.
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
Richmond Enquirer (Richmond, Virginia). 23 Aug 1859, Thu, page 2. Accessed at Newspapers.com
Saint-Louis, Henri. Act #2428. 14 July 1884. Resolution of Miles Knowlton’s estate. Accessed by request via Sherbrooke BAnQ
The Burlington Weekly Sentinel (Burlington, Vermont). Thursday, April 17, 1856, pg. 2. From the Stanstead Journal. Accessed at Newspapers.com
The Gazette (Montreal, Quebec, Canada). 31 Jul 1857, Fri, Page 2. Accessed at Newspapers.com
The St Johnsbury Caledonian (St. Johnsbury, Vermont). 15 Sep 1855, pg 2. Accessed at Newspapers.com
The Vermont Patriot and State Gazette (Montpelier, Vermont). 22 Dec 1853, Thu, page 2. Accessed at Newspaper.com
The Weekly Examiner (Sherbrooke, Quebec). 18 Aug 1882, page 3. http://collections.banq.qc.ca/ark:/52327/3467928
Weekly Examiner (Sherbrooke, Quebec). 23 July 1886, Fri, page 3. Accessed http://collections.banq.qc.ca/ark:/52327/3468138