One of the more interesting places in the Jackfish ghost town is the ruins of the Lakeview Hotel. It was built by a local personality, Bill Turner in the late 1800's and served as the major town attraction until its demise in 1960. From looking through the ruins, it appears the hotel was built in a number of stages, first the north side building, then the south building (built for its extra rooms and upstairs pool hall). Eventually the two buildings were joined together into the one grand hotel.
Along with the regular accommodations, there were a variety of happenings at the hotel. King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (later the queen mother) stayed at the hotel during their royal visit in May 1939. The hotel also hosted a number of POW guards from the Neys camp during WWII. Apparently there was a bit of friction between the guards and visiting Japanese Canadians that lived in a nearby internment camp at Jackfish Lake, with the hotel then being made off limits to the men from the internment camp.
But perhaps the most significant visitors to the hotel were various members of the Group of Seven, who stayed at the Lakeview periodically during the summers of 1924-1926. Franklin Charmichael painted Jackfish Village from nearby. And I believe Lawren Harris painted a number of Lake Superior vistas from the hills above the hotel.
Island, Lake Superior, by Lawren Harris
Le Matin, Lac Superier, by Lawren Harris
You can clearly see St Patricks Island in both of Harris' paintings. I'll put up a further blog on the Group of Seven and Lake Superior, with some additional stories later.
So... In the 1950's, with the town in decline after the closing of the coal dock, fishing in decline due to the sea lamprey, and the highway bypassing Jackfish village naturally the hotel began a downturn as well. It did last until 1960 when one night it burned to the ground. The end of the hotel, though, also signaled an end to the town, as by 1963 all of the Jackfish residents had moved away, most to neighboring Terrace Bay and Schreiber.
