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PHOTO: IRIS WINSTON
Historic Places
Living history is about places and buildings, as well as people.
This series highlights some of those special places.
Clearview House
BY IRIS WINSTON
Construction of Clearview House began in the early 1880s
when Quebec merchant William Nelson Dunning of
Buckingham moved to the village of Cumberland. He
intended part of the building to be a general store, as well
as his new home.
He was unable to realize his dream because he ran
short of funds before construction was complete. He and his
wife, Maria Rice McLaurin, moved away from the village of
Cumberland and resettled in Riceville, Ontario, where he
became the local postmaster.
His land and the unfinished house became the property
of the Canadian Pacific Savings and Loan Company.
Records indicate that the building was almost completed by
1883 but stood empty for a while. Eventually, in 1899, it
became the property of the village’s first doctor, James
Ferguson, and his family. The family connection with
William Dunning remained, as the two men were brothersin-law
(Dunning’s wife was the younger sister of Dr.
Ferguson’s wife). The stonework provided another family
connection. Dr. Ferguson’s father, a Vankleek Hill stonemason
who had immigrated to Canada from Scotland in 1836,
is thought to have contributed his expertise to this part of
the construction.
Dr. Ferguson, who was also the coroner for the United
Counties of Prescott-Russell, ran a family practice and phar-
Due West Magazine • Page 32 • Fall 2008
macy from the house in Cumberland Village until 1912. He
also served as the reeve of Cumberland Township in the
early 1900s, but moved away from the village when his wife,
Susanna Rice McLaurin, died in 1912.
Dr. Ferguson lived in Rockland until 1918, briefly sharing
the medical practice of his son, William, and then taking
it over, when the younger Dr. Ferguson died suddenly. Dr.
Ferguson Sr. spent the last three years of his life at home in
Clearview House, where he died in 1921.
During his 60 years in practice, he frequently made
house calls to his patients. Travelling through the “wilds” of
Cumberland Township led the physician into various adventures.
One story goes that he would go out on horseback
and that, after late-night calls, wolves periodically followed
the doctor and his horse home.
As the local coroner, his duties regularly included conducting
autopsies. For example, in 1890, when Eliza and
Mary McGonigle were murdered, Dr. Ferguson performed
the autopsies on the young sisters from Cumberland Village.
(The children had disappeared on their way home from
school. Some 30 hours later, searchers found their bodies in
a bush less than two kilometres from the family’s home.)
Although Clearview House remained in the Ferguson
family until 1978, family members lived there only sporadically
after Dr. Ferguson’s death (spending much more of
their time in Chestnut Cottage, the family-owned property
next door). For example, one of Dr. Ferguson’s grandsons,
Douglas, used part of the house for his dental practice during
the Second World War and other members of the family
lived there for a while in the 1960s. By this time, the building
had been converted into apartments, which were rented
out for a number of years.
In 1987, Clearview House was designated as a property
of architectural and historical interest under the Ontario
Heritage Act for its “distinct and unique example of the
Second Empire style of architecture in Cumberland
Village.” Mention is made of the mansard roof with set-in
gabled windows, bracketed columns, turned rails, cut-stone
quoins, and the verandah that circles the main and second
floors.
In 1992, Jacques Bédard, a local contractor, purchased
the building. After extensive renovations and rehabilitation,
Clearview House became the Auberge Heritage Inn. The
fine-dining establishment in the inn changed hands last
year. Owned by Stephen and Helga Galla, the Heritage
Ristorante specializes in Italian food.