Kilgour and Eaton House
 
Content from: Linda Clarke,Ralph and Fran Hunt, Beth McCall,Kathryn (Hunt) McLeod

Mr. Joseph Kilgour built his summer residence in 1910 at the end of Couchiching Point, the site of the destroyed Couchiching Hotel. It was nicely appointed, surrounded by beautiful gardens, shrubs and lawn.The building was enclosed behind a fence, and had a large impressive entrance with a circular driveway in the front.

Joseph Kilgour also owned Sunnybrook Farms and was well known for the fine race horses he had in his stables on Bayview Avenue. Some of these horses were brought to Couchiching Point during the summer months. He remodelled the hotel carriage house into a stable and tack rooms. 

The Kilgour family occupied the residence until 1944, at which time it was bequeathed to the Orillia Soldiers' Memorial Hospital, to be used as a convalescent home 

Subsequently this property was purchased by Edgar Eaton, president of Edgar Eaton Associates and was used as his summer home until it was destroyed by fire on November 12, 1959.


Front view of the Kilgour house, later the Eaton House

Back view of the Kilgour house

Original Kilgour boathouse, with the extension on the right added by Eaton

Above: 749 Broadview - original location of the Kilgour barn and stables, after their renovation into a residence.  The latest renovation of this property was done in 2014.

       

Left - George Moase driving the Kilgour launch

High-Flaring Flames Destroying Residence on Couchiching Point Estate are Seen 20 Miles Away
Searing heat keeps 1,000 spectators at distance in below-freezing winds from west.

Home of Eaton at Orillia Burns

Special to The Globe & Mail
Orillia, Nov. 12, 1959 
Water from firemen's hoses turned to steam in the intense heat produced by flames which tonight destroyed the Couchiching Point summer home of Edgar Eaton, Park Lane Circle, North York. 
Flames from the two-story frame house, built in 1910, could be seen 20 miles away.  A southbound bus driver looked 10 miles down the length of Lake Couchiching and thought half the town was on fire. 
Firemen had to be sprayed with water to keep them cool as they fought to keep the flames from spreading to nearby cottages and boathouses on the point which juts into Lake Couchiching on the eastern outskirts of Orillia. 
Although the temperature here tonight was only 28 degrees, policemen had no trouble keeping close to 1,000 spectators out of the way - the intense heat did that. 
The narrow, dead-end road leading to the Eaton summer home on the northern tip of the point was jammed with spectators' cars.  Volunteer firemen had difficulty getting through with extra equipment needed to contain the fire which burned for more than two hours in the tinder-dry wooden building. 
The house had been unoccupied since early September.  Deputy Fire Chief Elmer Leigh said an investigation would be made tomorrow to determine the cause of the fire, which was spotted by a neighbor, Mrs. Gerald Leatherdale. 
Mr. Eaton, president of Edgar Eaton Associates, manufacturers' agents, and a son of Lady Eaton, said he could not evaluate the loss of the estate home.  He said it had a great deal of sentimental value. 
Recently remodelled and refurnished, value of the house and contents was estimated at between $75,000 and $100,000.  The Great Northern Railway's hotel on the same site was destroyed by fire in 1876.


FLAMES ENVELOPE RICH SUMMER HOME   ...  GLARE WAS VISIBLE FOR MILES
ORILLIA (Staff) - One of Orillia's oldest summer residences went up in flames shortly after suppertime last night. The big fram $100,000 residence of Edgar Eaton, president of Edgar Eaton Manufacturer's Associates and a son of Lady Eaton burned to the ground in two hours.
The spectacular blaze, which could be seen for many miles, proved the centre of interest for more than a thousand spectators, who jammed the narrow road leading to Couchiching Point with their cars.
The intense heat from the tinder-dry cedar building kept spectators from interfering with the firefighters, who had to be soaked with water from time to time to stay near the fire.
Mr. Eaton who lives in North York said the building held a great deal of sentimental value for him. Furniture in the multi-room summer house was estimated at $25,000. One rug was said to be valued at $7,500.
The house located at the tip of Couchiching Point was built in 1910, thirty-four years after the Great Northern Railway's hotel burned down on the same spot in 1876.  A small summer pavilion survived both fires. Interior design and decor of the big house made it one of the most beautiful in Orillia.
The house had been unoccupied since September when the family closed it for the season and it is believed to have been newly re-wired this year.
The fire was first noticed by Mrs. Gordon Leatherdale who lives nearby. She contacted George Moase, a neighbour, who called the Fire Department. When firemen arrived the flames already had a good head start, but firefighters kept them from spreading to nearby boathouses, trees and shrubs, although their single line of hose could do little to save the house.
Deputy-Fire Chief Elmer Leigh said he would conduct an investigation of the fire's origin today. Police have reason to suspect that the blaze may have been other than accidental.