Oak Hall (Niagara Falls, Ontario)

Oak Hall
Established 1982
Location 7400 Portage Road, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
Type Historic house museum and golf course in Canada
Website Niagara Parks Commission: Oak Hall

Oak Hall is a 37-room, three-story Tudor-style mansion built by mining tycoon Harry Oakes (1874-1943) located in Niagara Falls, Ontario,[1] approximate 1/4 mile southwest of the Canadian Horseshoe Falls. In 1966, the estate grounds became a 9-hole golf course and since 1982, the mansion has housed the offices of the Niagara Parks Commission.

History

Early history

Harry and Eunice Oakes in Toronto, sometime in the 1930s

The Oak Hall grounds were originally part of the Clark Hill Islands property (see Dufferin Islands). The property was sold off and split in 1898 and went through several ownership changes until Walter Schoellkopf (1882-1955)[2] bought the property in 1916.[3] The Schoellkopf family was from across the Niagara River in Niagara Falls, New York and were pioneers of hydraulic power development in the region.

Sir Harry Oakes

In 1924, Harry Oakes and his wife, Lady Eunice Oakes, bought the property from the Schoellkopfs. They hired the firm of Findlay and Foulis of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario to design and construct the mansion[4] known as Oak Hall, which was completed by 1928 at a cost of $500,000 (equivalent to $6,974,000 in 2016).[1] Findlay and Foulis were also responsible for the Table Rock house in Niagara Falls, Ontario.[4] During this time, Oakes became interested in golf and hired top golf course architect Stanley Thompson to build a nine-hole course for him on the estate. The course was completed in 1929 and was known as the "Sir Harry Oakes Private Course."[5] The Oakes family lived there until 1935, when Oakes left Canada (due to what he believed was over-taxation of his gold mines) and moved to the Bahamas. After Oakes' death in the Bahamas in 1943, Lady Oakes deeded the mansion to the Canadian Government to be used as a convalescent hospital for the Royal Canadian Air Force. In 1952, when the government no longer needed the home, they deeded it back to the Oakes family and shortly thereafter, Sir Sidney Oakes, Sir Harry Oakes' son, moved in and lived there with his wife for several years before moving back to the Bahamas.[4]

Government ownership

In 1959, The Niagara Parks Commission purchased Oak Hall, and in 1964 opened it to the public. Included in the purchase were unique furnishings including dinner chairs used during a visit to the area by Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (and future King of England) in 1919.[3]

In 1966, the commission opened the par-3 golf course[6] on the estate to the public in efforts to attract more visitors to the grounds, with the golf course offices housed in the former garage. The Parks Commission still sought to utilize the mansion fully, and in 1982 moved their central offices from Queen Victoria Park to Oak Hall, where they remain today (the golf offices were moved to a gatehouse on the outer grounds). Though the majority of the rooms were converted to office space, three rooms remained in their historic state, with the Prince of Wales' dinner chairs still on display in the dining room.[3]

Today

Oak Hall is open to the public. Visitors can view the Great Hall reception area, the dining room and the living room, as well as the commission's collection of art related to Niagara Falls.[4] Currently, the Parks commission chairman and general manager have their offices on the east side of the building, where Sir Harry and Lady Eunice's bedrooms once were.[7] The chapel, which was built so the family could have private worship services, is now the Commission's information technology manager's office. Its peaked ceiling remains intact and the view from the window showcases a spectacular view of the river and islands below.[7]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Oak Hall". niagarafalls.ca. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  2. ↑ Berketa, Rick. "Sir Harry Oakes and his family legacies". niagarafrontier.com. Niagara Falls Thunder Alley. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 "History of Oak Hall". niagaraparks.com. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Parakh, Deepa. "Oak Hall" (PDF). niagarafallsmuseums.ca. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  5. ↑ The Golf Course, by Geoffrey Cornish and Ronald Whitten, HarperCollins, 1981, ISBN 0-8317-3943-6.
  6. ↑ "Oak Hall Par 3". niagaraparksgolf.com. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  7. 1 2 Pellegrini, Jennifer (August 29, 2008). "Inside Oak Hall". Niagara Falls Review. Retrieved 8 February 2016.

Coordinates: 43°04′11″N 79°04′23″W / 43.0697°N 79.0731°W / 43.0697; -79.0731

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