White Otter Castle

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White Otter Castle is an elaborate 3-story log dwelling which was built on the shore of White Otter Lake, near Atikokan, Ontario by eccentric hermit James Alexander "Jimmy" McOuat.

The "Castle" is a sturdy log house which stands 3 stories tall (29 feet), with a turret extending up an additional floor (41 feet). The main part of the building measures 24 by 28 feet, while an attached kitchen area adds a further 14 by 20 feet to the floorplan.

McOuat built his "castle" single-handedly, beginning in 1903, and finally completing it in 1914. He felled and cut all of the red pine logs himself, and hoisted the finished, dovetailed beams (some of them weighing as much as 1600 lbs) into place by means of simple block and tackle.

Jimmy McOuat drowned while netting fish in 1918. His grave stands next to the Castle. Castle

MUSIC

Jinx and the Soulmates have a song on their album called King of White Otter Lake written by Bill Houston. This song is folk based in the spirit of Gordon Lightfoot.[Bill Houston]