Severn River Inn is a welcoming sight to contemporary visitors, as it overlooks the Severn River.
The first recorded pioneers came here in 1858. They were James H. Jackson, William Johnston, and John Young. They had all been given land grants on the river. By 1862 Severn Bridge was reported to be a thriving village site.
It was James H. Jackson who settled on the site where the Severn River Inn stands today. There he built a log cabin close to the river and opened a general store.
In January 1861 the Jackson store became Muskoka’s very first post office and J.H. was the Postmaster. Three years later Jackson had fulfilled the requirements for his land grant and received a patent for all 95 acres of the combined lots 1 and 2 on the east side of the Muskoka Road.
With a mortgage of $500 from William Anderson, Jackson constructed a large, white, frame building which included his residence, the store and the post office.
The Northern Extension Railway arrived in 1873–74. It brought with it a new industry — tourism. Next came the steamboat Pioneer, making daily runs from Severn Bridge to campsites and hotels on Sparrow Lake and not far behind came other steamboats to accommodate the growing trade.
By 1896, Severn Bridge boasted a population of 150 people. More stores and shops opened to service the area residents, tourists, and the workers from mills that had been established on the river.
James Jackson passed away in 1894, and his son James H. Jackson Jr. took over the daily operations, which now included the telephone exchange. James Jr. knew that tourism would always be a good source of revenue and so he built a summer hotel to accommodate 35 to 40 guests. He named his hotel, which was situated on the bank of the river next to his residence, Riverview.
A disastrous fire in 1906, caused by a spark from the burner at the mill, levelled most of the village. The Jackson residence, store, post office, and hotel, along with many other homes and businesses were destroyed in a matter of minutes.
The merchants and villagers rallied to the task of rebuilding. By 1907, with the help of his brother, Joseph, who was a carpenter, James rebuilt a new brick building by the river, a building large enough once again to accommodate a store, a hotel, and a family residence. The establishment was named the Severn River Inn. This is now the third time for a building on one site.
It continued to be operated as a general store, a post office, and a telephone exchange, and they now boarded teachers, travellers, and summer guests. They were well known for their “Jackson hospitality.” The inn became a thriving centre of social activity for the area.
James Jackson Jr. died in 1942 and the business was sold to his son-in-law, Arthur Fawcett, who had married James’s daughter, Marjorie Jackson. Their daughter Pauline Delamere recalls growing up at the inn. “The teachers and guests ate their meals in the dining room, while the family dined in the kitchen. We had five rooms for lodgers to rent. They all shared one washroom, but there were two outhouses to use — one on one side of the building for men and another on the other side for the women to use. My grandmother Ida lived with us and resided on the second floor on the right-hand side of the front section of the building. She passed away in the inn … but … I don’t recall any hauntings while my family lived there.”
In 1972 the Fawcetts retired from business and sold the Severn River Inn. This was the first time in 110 years that it was out of the Jackson family. Since that time it has changed hands several times. Patricia Raymond purchased the place in 1981 and, with the help of her three children, she restored the building and opened a 10-room country inn.
Shortly thereafter, the Town of Gravenhurst declared the inn a Heritage Building under the Ontario Heritage Act. The original architectural features of the building have survived the passing of nine decades. The twin wooden posts, which supported the beam over the Victorian storefront of the general store, the original double-hung windows, the brick veneer, and the decorative columns on the long, screened verandah, now a summer dining area, still remain.
Eventually, Norman and Rosalie Rondeau and Curt and Kaaren Brandt purchased the historic inn. Both couples acknowledged that some unexplained activity certainly had been occurring in the building. However, no one, at that point, had sighted a ghost nor identified the spirits in question. Nevertheless, there were stories to verify a presence there.
Phyllis, an employee of the inn, had also worked for the previous owners. She had experienced mysterious happenings at the fire door. “I sometimes find the fire escape door, located at the front of the building, wide open. The door might open at night after the guests have retired and the patrons are gone. I have never seen a ghost, but I don’t disbelieve — anything is possible.”
Rosalie stated, “I get tapped on the shoulder in the back dining room area. This happens about once every two months.” Her partner Kaaren, has heard children playing by the backstairs in the building but nothing was ever visible. There were no children physically present. “I could hear them running around and playfully squealing,” she added. It was almost as if parallel lives were being lived or simultaneous activity was occurring, somewhat oblivious to the present day.
Kaaren has also experienced spirit activity on the grounds of the inn. “When I was raking leaves once, I felt someone tugging at my coat. I turned and said, ‘If you’ll be nice to me, I’ll be nice to you!’”
Guests and patrons visiting the inn have the opportunity to explore several different settings in the building. They can enjoy a meal in the J.H. Jackson Dining Room, which was the original post office, the telephone exchange, and the general store, or they can just relax in the more formal parlour with a restful view of Severn River. The cozy Storefront lounge provides a turn-of-the-century atmosphere. The seven guest rooms, all beautifully furnished with antiques, are located on the second floor. One could almost step back in time themselves as the scene has been well set to do so. Could this be a key to keeping the past alive?
Gabriella Kira was the chef there in 1997 and she took great pride in her menu — prime rib on Sunday nights, the immensely popular beef Wellington, or the maritime seafood chowder prepared by her husband. Gabriella, herself, has had a number of experiences with spirit activity.
“One evening I was working with Rhonda. It was about eight o’clock and we were the only two people in the inn. We were in the bar area when we heard footsteps upstairs. Then we heard someone walking up and down the stairs by the back dining room, the stairs that lead to the second floor. The floors creak, so we know when someone is walking around. I also heard a door slam. It sounded like the door to either room 3 or 4. Rhonda said to me, ‘Do you want to go upstairs to see who it is?’ I said ‘No!’”
“I think this spirit activity is so intriguing. Somehow it renders the previous inhabitants mysterious,” Gabriella added.
One night Gabriella was working with Norman Rondeau. At the end of each day Norman would retire to the office on the second floor to complete the day’s bookkeeping. At this time of the evening the business would be closed. On that particular night Norman and Gabriella were the only two people in the building.
Gabriella explained what happened, “I was downstairs in the basement taking some food out of the freezer for the next day. Suddenly I heard someone walking around in the bar area. I came upstairs, thinking it was Norman and then I realized he was still in the office. I asked Norman, if he had been downstairs, but the answer was no. I returned to the basement and again I heard the footsteps.”
Gabriella took me to the basement, to show me how you can hear the footsteps of customers walking on the first floor. The sound of footsteps was quite pronounced.
As for Norman, although he had
