Hotel Presqu'ile The prospect of making money from all the visitors to Presqu’ile Point was not lost on Gosport businessman Peter Covell. He acquired land on the bay shore west of Salt Point and built the first hotel in 1905. It was called simply, “Hotel Presqu’ile”, an ample two‐story frame structure, with friendly verandahs along the shore and east sides. Immediately to the east of the hotel was an enclosed dance floor which was close to the location of the old court house and jail of early days. A newspaper report was all positive: “July 1,1905 was the grand opening of the new hotel. A committee under the chairmanship of Sam Nesbitt arranged a program of horse racing, land and water sports, to celebrate the occasion. D. Cumming's steamboat 'Mystic' conveyed the crowds of people from Brighton wharf to the new sand and gravel wharf erected at the hotel. Dr. Howell was the chief speaker and Miss Alice Porte of Brighton was the winner of the contest to name the new hotel, the name “Hotel Presqu’ile” being chosen by the judges. Everyone brought a picnic lunch and enjoyed seeing the first Hotel ever built on the Peninsula. Although there were still no roads it was a red letter day for the entire community.” A red letter day, indeed! Note: Check out the three kids standing at he corner of the verandah closest to the camera. These are the Atkins kids, Clarence, Gladys and Jack, who came from New York to spend the summers at Presqu'ile Point.
With increasing demand, it was not long before the hotel had to be expanded to provide more rooms and a better dining hall. Presqu’ile became what we now call a destination. In particular, it became the favorite summer holiday place for many prosperous folks from Montreal to Toronto and from the northern US States. It was an easy train ride from Toronto and a pleasant cruise in the family yacht across Lake Ontario and into Presqu’ile Bay.
Another Gosport businessman, Grant Quick, entered the picture in 1913. He purchased land across the road from the hotel and built a large dance hall. This place was advertised as the Pleasure Palace and was known to have one of the best dance floors in the province. It presented direct and tough competition for Mr. Covell’s smaller and less boisterous dance floor beside the hotel.
Then, in 1914, Grant Quick purchasing the hotel from Peter Covell, so he was in control of the entire resort. Mr. Quick invested heavily in the expansion of the hotel and was involved in many broader projects of improvement such as bringing electricity to Presqu’ile Point from Brighton in 1923.
Grant Quick soon became well known for his aggressive pursuit of name acts for his Pleasure Palace. Many excellent bands from around Ontario played there regularly and the dance floor was always crowded. One of the most popular international acts the played at the Pleasure Palace during World War I was Vernon and Irene Castle. This couple had almost single‐handed created the craze of ragtime music which was sweeping the world. Vernon Castle enlisted in England at the beginning of the war and became a decorated fighter pilot and then a flight instructor. In 1917 he was stationed at Deseronto and during the summer, he and Irene flew from Deseronto to perform at the Pleasure Palace. They landing in a field south of the building, making a typical dramatic entrance, which suited this couple perfectly. The performance was talked about around Presqu’ile for years to come. Unfortunately, Vernon Castle was killed in a training accident in February 1918 in Texas.
Back to the Province Jurisdiction over Presqu’ile Point changed again in 1920. Most of the peninsula was transferred back to the province of Ontario, except for 125 acres of the lighthouse reserve. Then, in 1928, the lighthouse reserve was also transferred to the province, leaving only 3.4 acres as a lighthouse reserve.
Ben Kerr & Prohibition The summer of 1927 was particularly busy at Presqu’ile. However, history provides us with a less noble side of how the resort was used. After all the cottagers left in the fall, Ben Kerr and his sidekick, Alf Wheat, rented the cottage immediately east of the hotel. For the next two winters, this would be the base of smuggling operations for one of the most notorious of the rum‐runners on Lake Ontario during prohibition. It is said that Kerr asked for the piano to be moved from the hotel but, when that was refused, he satisfied himself by playing the piano in the hotel – when not running beer and whisky to the US shore in his purpose‐built speedboat called Pollywog. These two smugglers would suffer a brutal end in the frigid ice flows off the shore of Lake Ontario east of Lakeport in February 1929. Purtell Quick, a nephew of Grant Quick, would acquire one of the smashed propellers from the boat as a souvenir.
Grant Quick From 1913 until 1971, Grant Quick ran the hotel and dance pavilion at Presqu’ile. The 1920s were particularly busy times when people loved to dance and stay at resort hotels. He hired the best musical acts from around the country and beyond, all enhanced by an excellent dance floor. Discipline was tight because this was a family resort, and Mr. Quick took no guff from anyone. Around 1930 he hired an experienced hotel manageress named Helen Faulkner. In fact, Grant Quick and his new chatelain made such a good team that they were married in 1932. The hotel was Mrs. Quick’s domain, as attested to by many young Brighton teenagers who managed to land a plum summer job at Hotel Presqu’ile.
Cottagers Ball 1934 Here is a testament to how serious cottaging at Presqu’ile was to a lot of folks in Toronto and area. This is the group picture taken at the Presqu’ile Cottagers Ball, held at the Royal York Hotel in January of 1934. There was a significant community of cottagers who lived and worked in Toronto and spent major time at Presqu’ile in the summer. In this group, cottages have been passed down from generation to generation.
The Park Commission Soon after Presqu’ile came back under the authority of the province, the Presqu’ile Park Commission was established to manage the area. This was a 5‐person commission made up of two conservative members and three liberal members. Yes, the proportions would change when the conservatives formed government. The commission would have largely the same responsibility as a municipal council, which included hiring a superintendent, leasing the land, passing and enforcing by‐laws and collection of taxes. They were involved in the maintenance of roads and public spaces as well as issues related to public health such as drinking water and waste management. Garbage was collected, trees were planted and the park was beautified. During the 1940s, these three notices from the commission appeared in the local newspaper on the Point, called the “’Squiler.”
The Bridge and Causeway Access by road to Presqu’ile Point was still difficult, even into the 1930s. The road that we now call Presqu’ile Parkway, just before the entrance to the park, was too low to avoid flooding in the spring. Most car traffic went to Huff Road and approached the peninsula from the west. Finally, in 1939, the town of Brighton and the Park Commission agreed to share the cost of a proper road from Ontario Street to the park entrance. This was a major undertaking. Massive amounts of fill would be needed to build up the causeway at a time when most of this kind of work was done by men with shovels along with horses and wagons. It was decided that material could be moved from Goose Island, which was in the bay off from our current Municipal Park. In march of 1939, this work began with hundreds of laborers and dozens of teams and sleighs. The soil was shoveled onto sleighs on Goose Island and driven across the ice to dump on the new road. After this was done, gravel was moved from along the beaches to finish the road as far west as the Simpson cairn near the entrance to the park. This was the first fully serviceable road to Presqu’ile directly from Brighton and made Ontario Street the main access route to Presqu’ile Point.
Ted Snider Band Into the 1940s the bands kept everyone moving on the dance floor. Here is a picture of the Ted Snider Band, the home band at the pavilion in 1946 and 1947. They lived in small cabins behind the pavilion and played almost every night all summer. Ted Snider, the leader of the band, is on the far right, with his signature trumpet. He would go on to have a long career as a band leader and radio personality.
On Saturday nights there was a more formal dance which brought out the suits and long dresses. I think we can confidently say that there was some serious courtin’ and sparkin’ that went on, all centered around the dance floor at the Presqu’ile Pavilion.
But, most days, it was very much casual and fun. The pavilion in particular was a magnet for teenagers.