Hello SSJI Friends -  Survey Request for Heritage Sandbanks Homes

                                                                                                       by Liz Driver

Hyatt House operated as Lakeview Lodge (Photo: Hyatt-Mullins Collection)

The County is a magical blend of natural and cultural heritage. It’s poignant to see the 1865 Hudgin Log House on Ostrander Point Rd surviving amidst the nature of the South Shore. Soon, work will begin to restore the log structure and bring it back to life with a new purpose – a field house for educational activities. As a volunteer on the Hudgin Log House Restoration Committee, I am inspired by the enthusiasm that SSJI members and others have for the project.

The original Hudgin property touched the Lake Ontario shore. If you follow the shore westwards, to what is now Sandbanks Provincial Park, you will find two other buildings of a similar age, which have also been unoccupied for a long time, the Hyatt and MacDonald houses.

The heritage Hyatt and MacDonald homes as they stand in 2021 (Photo: SHSH)

I belong to a newly formed, community-based working group called Save Heritage Sandbanks Homes (SHSH), which is seeking an alternative to demolition of the Hyatt and MacDonald houses. If you have a special feeling for the County’s built heritage, please visit the SHSH website to enjoy the historic photographs and information, and take 2 minutes to complete the short survey to collect opinions on the preservation and repurposing of these heritage buildings.

Your voice is important to express how the public feels about the future of Hyatt and MacDonald Homes.