The Ogilvie widow's abandoned mansion
The Ogilvie widow's abandoned mansion

The Ogilvie widow's abandoned mansion

The Ogilvie widow's abandoned mansion

Bourgeois mansion in the woods

Laurentides (Quebec), Canada

Built in 1923 by Helen Johnston, widow of William Watson Ogilvie, the mansion incorporates all the components required by the old bourgeoisie. It must be said that her husband William W. Ogilvie had made a fortune in the grain trade, and when he died in 1900 he left behind a nice nest egg of nearly a million and a half dollars to his wife and four children.

The Ogilvie family already owned a sumptuous residence in Montreal (the Rosemount house located on Mount Royal) but it was common practice at the time to own several country homes. So despite her advanced age, Helen Johnston built this luxury home north of Montreal in the woods, near a lake. Inside, there were half a dozen rooms each with a private bathroom, a large living room on the ground floor, and a small room for the maid right next to the kitchen. Outside, there were farm buildings (now destroyed) and much more.

With the death of the Ogilvie widow, the property was sold and eventually became part of a vast tourist complex comprising a private golf course, chalets and more.

Today, it's the whole complex who is in a sorry state. The golf course is closed, the company's web site has not been updated for two years, and the mansion is abandoned, left to itself. Although its structure is in excellent condition, mold has begun to appear everywhere. Fortunately, so far there hasn’t been any vandalism.
 

Related content

The abandoned Dundas Castle
Roscoe, New York (United States)

Built in 1924 in Roscoe, New York state, the Dundas Castle was modeled after a 15th century’s castle in Scotland, located near Edinburgh. The American version of the Dundas Castle was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001....

The old Jersey house
Gaspésie, Quebec (Canada)

The history of this house is intimately linked to the original owners who came from the island of Jersey, part of the Anglo-Norman Isles. From a wave of immigrants from the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey, they will be hundreds of families...

The Purple rain
The Madeleine islands, Quebec (Canada)

The Madeleine islands are an eleven islands archipelago in the middle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. While most are interconnected by bridges or dams, some are isolated and far away from the main land.

The islands are known for their...

The old Minas de Riotinto locomotives
Minas de Riotinto, (Spain)

We are talking about over 5000 years of mining history in this area. The landscape has been changed forever, and it looks at some places like a alien planet where red, yellow, purple mingle with green, gray and ocher.

The ten abandoned...