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~ Kirkfield ~

Author’s note: A name in this chapter has been changed to respect the privacy of a “sensitive” who felt presences in the house. Another individual is not named at all in order to protect the identity of a man who may have been falsely accused, here, of a horrible crime.

It must have seemed like a dream to the villagers of Kirkfield, Ontario, when in 1888, William Mackenzie built a forty-room mansion in their midst. To this day one can marvel at the sight.

This mansion still holds a spell over this tiny settlement in Victoria County. There is a power there, a veil of intrigue and mystery that permeates the house and grounds. One can sense “something” when one crosses the threshold, a feeling, a premonition of the unveiled.

The Mackenzie Inn, as it is referred to today, reflects an era now gone, an era when money could buy whatever you desired. And it is a fact that those who created this grandeur have not left it. The surrounding area is also steeped in Scottish lore and so, whatever you do, never let anyone step on your shadow!

My first acquaintance with the Mackenzie mansion occurred when I was researching a book on old Ontario homesteads in 1979. I remember how this building caught my eye and how I was drawn to stop and inquire. As majestic as it was, its one-time presence was also obviously faded; I was hooked.

A warm Irish family, the MacDonald-Rosses, owned the estate at that time, including the gatehouse, which had been turned into a restaurant, and the log cabin across the street. They worked day and night to save the estate from ruin. Their earnest efforts were, eventually, fruitless and they, too, had their misfortunes and left. The MacDonald-Rosses had become part of the failed dream, part of the mystery and intrigue. To those who dream, this mansion is a castle.

Sir William Mackenzie, Canada’s railway baron, dreamed the first dream. The story began with John Mackenzie, born in 1810, in Ross-shire, Scotland. In 1832, John and his wife left Scotland for Canada where they landed first in Montreal, and then Toronto. In late 1836 they were assigned two lots in Eldon Township, Victoria County, and the family settled there.

According to parish records, William Mackenzie was born in a log cabin on October 17, 1849, although he later claimed his date of birth to be October 30. His mother, Mary, died when he was three and William went to live with his mother’s sister, Catherine. He completed his education at grammar school in Lindsay.

In 1868 he taught for a year in Bolsover and then moved to Kirkfield. At the age of 21 he began a new career with his brother Alex and his classmates, John and Angus McDonald. They opened the Shoofly Store, so-called because William was constantly shooing flies away. This young group of men supplied timber for bridges and for wooden roads, as the northern part of Victoria County and the district of Muskoka became populated.

In the 1870s William and his brothers operated a sawmill, a sash and door factory, a grist mill, and a small furniture company in Kirkfield. Their entire operation covered all parts of the industry from raw materials to finished product. They also had an exclusive license to cut timber in areas prohibited to others — no competitors!

The Mackenzie Inn as it appears today.

In 1872 William married a woman of rare beauty and quiet dignity; she was a local Catholic girl, Margaret Merry. They had a private ceremony in Lindsay without benefit of family; two strangers witnessed their vows. He was a Presbyterian and their families did not approve of the union. The Mackenzies had a long and happy marriage and raised nine children.

Between 1874 and 1876 William and Alex Mackenzie constructed bridges for the Victoria Railway, as well as the station and engine house in Kinmount, north of Lindsay. They were beginning to prosper financially.

William Mackenzie set out for Winnipeg in 1882 to set up a branch of the Mackenzie Brothers. Two years later he met his future partner, Donald Mann. These were railroad boom times. One of Mackenzie’s major projects was the construction of the Mountain Creek Bridge, one of the largest wooden structures ever built over a gorge in Western Canada.

After 1886 he and his associates were granted major construction contracts on numerous railways and by 1895 he was one of Canada’s leading railway barons and financiers.

His rise in economic stature helped to inspire his dream home. In 1888 William Mackenzie started construction of the splendid three-storey mansion that graces the main street of Kirkfield today. This was an extravagant structure measuring 1,400 square metres (13,000 square feet) with 40 rooms, two bathrooms and nine fireplaces. The cost was $18,000. Upon entering this home, one found oneself in a large reception area and from there one could be escorted to the parlour for tea and conversation, the dining room for a meal, or perhaps to the kitchen. An oak staircase found its way to the second floor and servants were housed on the third floor.

Some folks say that a tunnel under the building led underground across the street to the home of Margaret’s sister, Mrs. Mitchell. At any rate, Margaret Mackenzie was in her glory. She had come from a poor family in the district and now found herself with 13 servants to attend to her needs and whims. Money and fame, the townsfolk speculated, had gone to her head. People could see that she had become very ambitious. In 1993 Jennie Harrigan Manen, at the age of 97, recalled Margaret Mackenzie in her own memoirs, “She bought most of the farms adjoining Kirkfield. Each farm had a man working it. This was all on a grand scale, wages were good, the house free, there was a dairy farm and a racing stable. A golf course was set out on the sandy hills across from the cemetery. The two hotels were torn down and a large edifice called the Kirkfield Inn was built. Of course, the locals were not exactly welcome there, nor would they feel at home in such elegant surroundings.”

In 1912 Margaret Mackenzie had, indeed, torn down the two original hotels in town and perhaps one of the reasons the locals didn’t feel welcome was because she had imposed a ban on alcohol being served in any public building in the village of Kirkfield. Her Kirkfield Inn, of course, did not sell alcohol. One can imagine the resentment felt by some residents. The locals were forced, for “refreshment,” to ride to Bolsover to visit a female bootlegger by the name of Biddy Young. Ms. Young was not too fond of the Mackenzies and was heard to say on the village streets of Kirkfield that the Mackenzies had forgotten their humble beginnings. She felt she was blessed with second sight and she “saw” that one day the Mackenzie family would experience doom and gloom. Unfortunately for William and Margaret, time has proven her to be right.

Nevertheless, the Mackenzie’s fortunes flourished and they continued to live luxuriously. They purchased property on Balsam Lake, built a massive summer home and docked a yacht on the lake. Their impressive mansion in Toronto was called Benvenuto. Rumours about other investments abounded and the villagers, perhaps envious of their prosperity, felt that some investments might be unsavoury. None of this has been substantiated, however.

The locals in Kirkfield continued to feel the effects of Margaret’s strong influence. She not only imported trees and flowers from all over the world for her house, but also planted 600 maple trees along the streets of Kirkfield. To insure that these saplings did not fall prey to “inconsiderations,” she had the town officials impose a twenty-dollar fine for anyone caught tying a horse to a maple tree. She was sensitive in the extreme about the appearance of Kirkfield, and, so it seemed to the residents, oblivious to the feelings of others. If a home did not meet her standards for respectability, it was not unusual for a crew of men to arrive one day to paint the house at her request and expense, without the homeowner’s permission!

In 1895 William and Donald Mann organized and built the Canadian Northern Railway, which later became a transcontinental system. At that time he was said to be the second-richest man in all of Canada.

William continued to build his empire. He was a partner in the Toronto Street Railway and an early investor with Sir Henry Pellatt (famous for Casa Loma in Toronto) in hydro-electric power. He owned a fleet of ocean-going ships and was the founder of a Brazilian power and light company that eventually emerged as Brascan and he was its first chairperson.

William Mackenzie and Donald Mann were knighted by King George V in 1911.

In 1914 Sir William and family were in England. It was Tuesday, August 4, 1914, when they heard the news that the German army had crossed into Belgium. Britain and her empire were now at war. William was heard to say “I’m finished.” In a short time his transcontinental railway empire and other business enterprises faced serious financial crisis as a result of world events.

Sir William saw his empire crumble during World War I. And on June 14, 1917, Prime Minister Borden informed him that his railway would have to be nationalized. The government could no longer financially assist his railway dreams. He was, on all accounts, exhausted, and Lady Mackenzie was gravely ill with cancer. She had just undergone surgery and he had kept a ten-day vigil at her bedside. When he heard the news from the Prime Minister he lowered his head and wept.

The Mackenzie family, date unknown.

On November 29, 1917, Lady Mackenzie died at Benvenuto. Her body was taken by train to Gamebridge, where two horses and a light wagon took her body on to a burial place in the Kirkfield Cemetery.

Sir William Mackenzie died five years later on December 5, 1923. He, too, was taken by train and horse and wagon to be buried beside his beloved wife.

It took years for the estate to be settled. Eventually, Sir William’s heirs inherited about $800,000 — a far cry from the value of his estate in the 1890s.

In less than a decade after his death, Benvenuto was demolished. In January 1925 a whole business block of Kirkfield was burned to the ground. The next month the Kirkfield Inn was gutted by fire.

Joe Mackenzie, Sir William’s son, sold the Kirkfield home in 1927 for one dollar to the Sisters of St. Joseph. He was killed a very short time later in a car accident just outside Kirkfield. The estate remained a convent/orphanage until the 1970s when it was purchased by the MacDonald-Ross family.

In 1936, the historic village hall was burned to the ground. The Wawinette, Sir William’s impressive yacht on Balsam Lake was sold to a hockey hero in the 1930s. He and his friends were boating on southern Georgian Bay when they hit a rock, the boat sank, and 20 lives were lost.

The golf course disappeared under vegetation and the dairy barn was vandalized. The racing stable was eventually demolished. By the 1960s the Mackenzie’s summer home on Balsam Lake had gone to rack and ruin.

Biddy Young probably had no idea how true her prophecy would ring.

The Kirkfield estate itself has known several different owners at different times. By the time Paul and Joan Scott discovered it, the estate was in a sad condition. The Scotts knew they were destined to own it, however. They, too, had been drawn into the mists of time and had envisioned the estate in its grandeur. As if by magic they could see it! They could also see what few can sense — a presence! They restored the home, furnished it with antiques, and opened a bed and breakfast.

The Scotts had a passion for preserving old buildings and history. Paul loved to tell a story and was quite at home on the Mackenzie estate. If the interest was there, Paul toured his guests and other tourists through the old building, sharing the Mackenzie story. Sometimes others had stories too — ghost stories!

I had often reminisced by the fire in the front room of the old house with the MacDonald-Ross family, as they recounted stories of bumps in the night and eerie noises in the gatehouse. The stories always seem to match the atmosphere. Is Sir William still here or is it Lady Mackenzie who walks the halls of the manor? Are they unable to leave their dream?

The Scotts had been open just over a year when a young woman we will call “Julia” registered for bed and breakfast at the inn. While she sat on the front veranda the next day Julia asked Paul, “Is this house haunted?”

Taken aback for a moment, Paul hesitantly responded with “I’m not sure.” He then asked her what she did for a living.

Julia answered, “I am a musician of sorts, an ordained minister, a writer, and a house cleaner.”

She explained that she wasn’t a house cleaner in the traditional sense. Julia could feel the presence of spirits in a house and, if necessary, clean them out. She is what is sometimes called a “sensitive”. Julia could feel the presence of spirits in this particular house and asked Paul if he would explore the premises with her.

How could he refuse? On their tour her feelings were strongest around the long-unused third floor. When the Scotts first bought the place, plaster was missing from some of the walls and there were gaps in the floor boards. Originally the third floor had housed the Mackenzie servants and a nursery and it was also used later by the nuns. This section of the home was eventually restored by Paul and Joan to house some of their overnight guests and the area included five bedrooms, a bathroom, and a large sitting room space. Each room was named for places and characters associated with the Mackenzies and their business accomplishments.

Once on the third floor, Julia exclaimed, “Oh, I don’t like the individual who lived in that bedroom (now called The Tony Griffin Room) to the right. He was a cruel and very sick person. And he is still here in his room.”

They then turned left and climbed three steps into the main section of the third floor. Julia looked into the bathroom on the right and turned to peek into the bedroom across the way. Immediately she remarked, “I hear children laughing and babies crying. This must have been the nursery.” She was right!

An old rocking chair sat in that room and Julia could see a little old lady sitting there. She said the woman had shocking white hair. Paul explained that this rocking chair had belonged to his Aunt Miriam. After she died he had been given that chair. Julia clearly described his Aunt Miriam. He added, “On two separate occasions last year, customers saw a little old lady sitting in this platform rocker with bright white hair.” Had Aunt Miriam stayed with her chair?

Julia and Paul proceeded to a small room on the left. She said this room had once been used to store trunks. Straight ahead was a room (The Canadian Northern Room) overlooking the main street. Julia felt this to be a very peaceful room.

The sitting room was located in the middle of the third floor. Another room off the sitting room also overlooked the main street. This room was called the George Laidlaw Room. Julia sensed it to be the “most serene room in the house.” Paul added, “We have people who come into this room and automatically feel entranced.”

A rocking chair belonging to a deceased aunt of the current owners sits in one of the guest rooms at the Mackenzie Inn. Several guests have reported seeing the chair rocking on its own, seemingly powered by an unseen force.

The next bedroom was the TTC Room. Julia felt this room to be a very uncomfortable space and although she sensed something there she was unable to describe her feelings.

Directly across from the Laidlaw Room was a small storage room that still housed the old water system of the house. Outside this doorway Julia began to quiver and weep. She could not move, she was traumatized. “I won’t go in there. Someone has been abused and murdered here. She was drowned.”

Paul was caught by surprise and didn’t know what to say. Meanwhile, Julia was feeling enormous pressure on her head, her knees felt weak, there were shivers up the back of her neck; she could not enter the room!

“She started to tremble. Tears welled up in her eyes,” stated Paul. “I can’t, I can’t go in there — there is too much trauma. It’s overwhelming me with sadness. I see a little girl choking, no, drowning. Yes, drowning, death, sadness, Oh, I can’t stay up here any longer,” Julia uttered.

Paul asked Julia what he could do about this newfound presence in the house. She replied, “You could try taking out all the wood in the room as it has absorbed the negative vibrations or another way might be to put out containers of Epson Salts. They might absorb the negative vibes.”

Paul added, “Tearing out all the wood wasn’t really an option so we proceeded to buy a large quantity of Epson Salts. This often prompted questions from people who toured this area in the year that we tried this solution, but as the many unsolicited stories of feelings and sensations kept coming from those who had no knowledge of the situation we summarized that it wasn’t working. The salts were removed.”

Paul showed me this storage room. Just inside is a place for cleaning supplies. To the left of this space is a small doorway that leads to a room containing the old water system — a 2,000-gallon, lead-lined water cistern! The entire space felt odd, especially since I already knew Julia’s story. Julia felt that the trauma felt by the victim had been impregnated into the very fibre of the room.

Paul elaborated, “The next year a friend of mine came up for a visit from Florida. One day he ventured into this space that Julia refused to enter and he remarked to me, ‘Paul, do you know a six-year-old was drowned in this cistern?’

“I asked him, ‘How would you know this?’

“He replied, ‘It simply came to me while I was in there. And furthermore, the individual responsible was demented.’”

Paul returned to the story about Julia, “The next day Julia and I were on the veranda. She looked me straight in the eye and wanted to know if I was related to a man she named. She said he was the man who lived on the third floor. I told her I was not but I would ask around.”

Paul discovered that there was once a man by that name who worked on the estate at one time. He lived in the back room on the third floor. There was no logical reason for Julia to have come up with his name.

There is no evidence of a young girl either missing or later found murdered in Kirkfield. If this did indeed occur, it was more than a well-kept secret. If Julia and Paul’s friend from Florida are correct, however, there was a murderer who lived freely among the residents of Kirkfield.

The Gatehouse Restaurant was located on one side of the property. The structure has been used as a school as well as a restaurant. This building was reputed to be haunted by spirits as long ago as the 1970s. Back then people said they heard noises in the back kitchen on the ground floor and footsteps on the second floor.

Leigh Hazelton was an employee of the restaurant and shared some haunting information with me, “I see a little girl appear under the counter on the first floor of the restaurant. She has short hair and very dirty legs. She would be about six or seven years old. One would think she was real, until she disappears.”

Could this be the little girl from the main house?

“I hear noises all the time, like banging. This always occurs downstairs at 10:00 a.m. I have also heard someone walking around upstairs, the radio goes off by itself downstairs, upstairs the radio changes stations on its own and the hot water tap in the ladies’ washroom goes on by itself.

“When we were renovating the upstairs of the building we had the oddest thing happen. We had just hung a number of decorative plates on the wall. As we turned to leave, one plate flew across the room. This was impossible — we had them securely hooked.”

Paul talked about other unexplained activity in the main building. The Scotts had had some difficulty with the electrical panel on the second floor. Paul described what happened, “On two occasions all the breakers switched off on the panel. I called in an electrician to show him what had happened. He told me it was impossible for all the breakers to go off at once.