31 Lakeshore Drive, Morrisburg

The original property, at the corner of Main and Stafford Street, facing the St. Lawrence River, was purchased by the late Dr. Theodore F. Chamberlain in 1873. Twelve years earlier, he had married Annetta Jane Parish from Athens, Ontario. He and his bride enjoyed a honeymoon vacation in Atlantic City. While there, in the vicinity of the Boardwalk, Dr. Chamberlain spied the home of which he had dreamed. He secured the plans, and in 1874 he built the stately red brick residence at Morrisburg, which old-timers still speak of as "the old Chamberlain house".

31 Lakeshore Drive, Morrisburg

 A story has often been told of the period following World War I when influenza swept the country and many people died. For some uncanny reason, Dr. Chamberlain's patients all survived. Edwin P. Foster, County Liquor Inspector, received a complaint that Dr. Chamberlain had been obtaining an unusually large number of cases of Scotch Whiskey. A charge was laid and when he appeared in court, Dr. Chamberlain, a noted orator, conducted his own defense. He called as a witness, Les VanAllan, Morrisburg's harness maker and lay preacher, noted for never having permitted liquor to touch his lips. Mr. VanAllan testified that the doctor's medicine had saved his life and that of his wife. The magistrate requested information regarding the ingredients of the medicine, whereupon Dr. Chamberlain, with thumbs hooked in the armholes of natty embroidered vest, staunchly stood his ground, saying "That, Your Worship, is a medical secret, that I am not at liberty to divulge". The charge was dismissed. 


Dr. Theodore F. Chamberlain

 

His government service at an end, the indefatigable Chamberlain returned to Morrisburg, where he again worked as a physician, dispensed veterinary medicine, and, until 1919, ran a sanatorium out of his large residence. Widowed in July 1924, he died of pneumonia at his retirement cottage at Chaffey's Lock in 1927 and was buried in the family plot in Athens. Three storey’s in height, it was surrounded on the front and East by spacious galleries. A conservatory with colorful stained- glassed windows added balance and charm to the West wing. The third floor, with panels of hand-picked ash paneling and jutting dormer windows became a private hospital, where resident patients were treated.



Dr. George M. Gorrell and his prize "Lunge"
caught in the St.Lawrence river in 1914.

31 Lakeshore Drive, Morrisburg

Over the years, the Chamberlain house changed owners. It belonged, in turn, to the doctor's son, W. P. Chamberlain, to Albert G.F. Drew, and to Watson Parish. ln 1915, the property was purchased by the late Fred H. Meikle who retained the South portion facing the river and sold the house to Michael J. Casselman, the father of the late Arza Clair Casselman, former M.P for Grenville-Dundas. Following a brief; unsuccessful attempt by a trio of investors from the United States to operate a tourist home under the name of the “Cardinal”, in 1939 Dr. George M. Gorrell became the owner of what is one of Morrisburg's most historic and picturesque residences.