Visitors danced ’til dawn at the glorious Lakeshore Lodge

Zachary Flavelle shows Brittany Williams how to do the Charleston on the foundation of the former dance hall at Lakeshore Lodge. The two Sandbanks summer staff members were dressed in period costume as part of the Friends of the Sandbanks’ annual Lakeshore Lodge Day, celebrating the history of the one popular destination spot. A combination dance hall and games room was built in the early 1960s to replace an earlier structure. Dancing took place most nights, often to a live band.

Friends of Sandbanks Provincial Park hosted a flashback to the glory days of Lakeshore Lodge on Wednesday at the once wildly popular vacation destination at West Point Park, Prince Edward County.

Staff dressed in period costume, played games of yesteryear and served corn and lemonade. Volunteers from Macaulay House in Picton also provided period games and showed newcomers and return visitors a glimpse into the history of the lodge and point.

Lakeshore Lodge was built in four stages between 1870 and 1893 and operated for 102 years. The large, three-storey building boasted numerous guest rooms and a dining hall that could seat more than 100 diners. Guests could pick up and mail letters, buy stamps, postcards, gum and candy in the reception area. The Lodge appealed to guests as well as local residents who would picnic on the grounds and make use of the facilities – including a shuffleboard pad, change houses, and recreational opportunities that varied from owner to owner, including a merry-go-round, baseball diamond, riding stables, rallies, boating regattas, fishing derbies, special events and dances. The foundation of the original dance hall remains. A swimming pool was available in the 60s and the remains of the diving board base are still visible.

A row of nine cottages was built in the late 1800s. They had no indoor plumbing or electricity until 1904 when a diesel generator was installed for the Lodge. Hydro connections were made in 1939. The Lodge closed in 1972 and was destroyed by fire in 1983.

Along the point, a lamp-lit boardwalk linked the Lodge with West Point Park. The Macaulay House guide map explains the flat rocks at the point were not used for swimming as the water was too deep, but they were popular with young couples who enjoyed the seclusion, as well as “…spinsters with good books, who sat on their handkerchiefs to protect their dresses.”