Bon Echo Inn
Text from the plaque
In the early twentieth century many well known Canadian artists painted and sketched in this area. They were drawn here by the striking landscape and the ideals of the owners of the Bon Echo Inn. Flora MacDonald Denison, a Toronto feminist, bought the inn in 1910. Inspired by the philosophy of American poet Walt Whitman, she set out to create a wilderness retreat for the avant-garde. Guests were offered painting lessons, amateur theatre and poetry readings. Flora's son, playwright Merrill Denison, inherited the resort in 1921 when Canadian cultural nationalism was on the rise. Many of his artist friends, including members of the Group of Seven, came here to vacation and work. The inn closed in 1928 and burned down in 1936. Only these buildings remain from the original resort.
Transcribed from the marker, not summarised.
Find the place
The County of Lennox & Addington
The Township of Addington Highlands
At the former site of the inn at Mazinaw Lake
in Bon Echo Provincial Park on Highway 41
30 km north of Kaladar on Highway 7
N 44 53.932 W 77 11.458
Recorded July 2006. Check current access before visiting.
Where it stands
