closed for repairs. Any money the railway earned was soon spent on repairs to the teetering trestle bridge.
The bridge actually became quite an embarrassment when the Prince of Wales and his royal party, en route from Cobourg to Peterborough, in September 1860, had to be transferred from the train at Rice Lake to the steamer Otonabee for the lake crossing. Officials feared for the life of the prince if he were to cross the bridge by train. The train crept slowly across the rickety bridge, and the prince re-boarded on the other side. By the spring of 1862, the bridge finally collapsed and floated away with the ice. The demise of the bridge meant the demise of the entire Cobourg Railway.
In the early 1860s, Cobourg may have appeared to be a prosperous town, waiting to become a city, but the truth of the situation was far from its appearance. The local paper made continual reference to the hard times that had fallen on the town. The Cobourg and Peterborough Railway had cost a million dollars, yet it failed to pay running expenses. On May 13, 1864, Henry Hough wrote in the the Cobourg World , âIt seems, as far as we can learn, to be generally admitted fact that Cobourg, as a business and commercial town, has gone down. There was a time when it took a front rank among the towns of the country; when business was brisk and plentiful; when the streets were thronged with bustling people, and the workshops with industrious and contented workmen.â The citizens continued to pay for their town until 1938.
The Commercial House, on the main street of Cobourg, in the 1870s.
Archives of Ontario
In the 1870s Cobourg experienced the arrival of many Americans who were anxious to spend their summers by the lake. One American observed, on beholding the town hall, âThat is indeed a splendid building, but where is the town for whose use it was built?â
At one time it was stated that every admiral in the American Navy had passed at least one holiday season in Cobourg. Society among them was very cultured and refined. Later on, a wealthier class of Americans, principally steel capitalists from Pittsburgh, arrived to make Cobourg their summer home. Some of these new arrivals purchased and enlarged stately old residences, while others erected palatial homes after the style of Newport, Maine.
General Charles Fitzhugh was one of the wealthy Americans who built a summer home in Cobourg. He was born in Oswego, New York, in 1838 and later entered West Point Academy. When the young men of the nation were called to war, Charles Fitzhugh at once gave his services to his country and, after being in action a short while, received a commission as first lieutenant. Promotion followed quickly in the field, and he soon became the youngest general in the northern army during the American Civil War.
This spacious mansion, entitled Strathmore and built in the 1870s, suited the period of elegance and grace created by the American summer homes in Cobourg.
Courtesy of Rob Mickel
He married Emma Shoenberger in 1865 and resigned from the army two years later. In 1900 he built Ravensworth, a stunning summer home on the shore of Lake Ontario. In keeping with the colonial appearance, the grounds were laid out in a graceful manner, with elegant gardens, immaculately groomed. Ravensworth was to become the scene of great family gatherings and marvelous social events for high, summer society. The architectural formality of the house complemented the lavish dinner parties, and the social rules were made palatable by the sweeping curves of gowns, the softly curled hair, the light laughter, and long gold cigarette holders. People flowed from one room to the other. Music and dancing continued until dawn, with crystal chandeliers glittering in the rays of the early morning sun.
Both the general and his wife died in 1923, and their summer home was sold to Richard Baylor Hickman of Kentucky. Soon after, Ravensworth became the scene of an attempted
The bridge actually became quite an embarrassment when the Prince of Wales and his royal party, en route from Cobourg to Peterborough, in September 1860, had to be transferred from the train at Rice Lake to the steamer Otonabee for the lake crossing. Officials feared for the life of the prince if he were to cross the bridge by train. The train crept slowly across the rickety bridge, and the prince re-boarded on the other side. By the spring of 1862, the bridge finally collapsed and floated away with the ice. The demise of the bridge meant the demise of the entire Cobourg Railway.
In the early 1860s, Cobourg may have appeared to be a prosperous town, waiting to become a city, but the truth of the situation was far from its appearance. The local paper made continual reference to the hard times that had fallen on the town. The Cobourg and Peterborough Railway had cost a million dollars, yet it failed to pay running expenses. On May 13, 1864, Henry Hough wrote in the the Cobourg World , âIt seems, as far as we can learn, to be generally admitted fact that Cobourg, as a business and commercial town, has gone down. There was a time when it took a front rank among the towns of the country; when business was brisk and plentiful; when the streets were thronged with bustling people, and the workshops with industrious and contented workmen.â The citizens continued to pay for their town until 1938.
The Commercial House, on the main street of Cobourg, in the 1870s.
Archives of Ontario
In the 1870s Cobourg experienced the arrival of many Americans who were anxious to spend their summers by the lake. One American observed, on beholding the town hall, âThat is indeed a splendid building, but where is the town for whose use it was built?â
At one time it was stated that every admiral in the American Navy had passed at least one holiday season in Cobourg. Society among them was very cultured and refined. Later on, a wealthier class of Americans, principally steel capitalists from Pittsburgh, arrived to make Cobourg their summer home. Some of these new arrivals purchased and enlarged stately old residences, while others erected palatial homes after the style of Newport, Maine.
General Charles Fitzhugh was one of the wealthy Americans who built a summer home in Cobourg. He was born in Oswego, New York, in 1838 and later entered West Point Academy. When the young men of the nation were called to war, Charles Fitzhugh at once gave his services to his country and, after being in action a short while, received a commission as first lieutenant. Promotion followed quickly in the field, and he soon became the youngest general in the northern army during the American Civil War.
This spacious mansion, entitled Strathmore and built in the 1870s, suited the period of elegance and grace created by the American summer homes in Cobourg.
Courtesy of Rob Mickel
He married Emma Shoenberger in 1865 and resigned from the army two years later. In 1900 he built Ravensworth, a stunning summer home on the shore of Lake Ontario. In keeping with the colonial appearance, the grounds were laid out in a graceful manner, with elegant gardens, immaculately groomed. Ravensworth was to become the scene of great family gatherings and marvelous social events for high, summer society. The architectural formality of the house complemented the lavish dinner parties, and the social rules were made palatable by the sweeping curves of gowns, the softly curled hair, the light laughter, and long gold cigarette holders. People flowed from one room to the other. Music and dancing continued until dawn, with crystal chandeliers glittering in the rays of the early morning sun.
Both the general and his wife died in 1923, and their summer home was sold to Richard Baylor Hickman of Kentucky. Soon after, Ravensworth became the scene of an attempted
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