Sibbald Point Provincial Park-Eildon Hall Museum-Ontario-20210816

Sibbald Point Provincial Park is a

provincial park Ischigualasto Provincial Park A provincial park (or territorial park) is a park administered by one of the provinces of a country, as opposed to a national park. They are similar to state parks in other countries. They are typically open to the ...

located in Sutton West, Ontario, Canada on the southern shores of

Lake Simcoe Lake Simcoe is a lake in southern Ontario, Canada, the fourth-largest lake wholly within the province, after Lake Nipigon, Lac Seul, and Lake Nipissing. At the time of the first European contact in the 17th century, the lake was called ''Ouentir ...

, north of

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. The park is located to the east of the vacation town of Jackson's Point, and The Briars Resort and Country Club which was still owned by the Sibbald family until it was sold in 2017. Sibbald Point Provincial Park has long sand beaches, sunny and shaded campsites, large grassy picnic areas and a forested hiking trail. The Sibbald family sold the property in 1951 to the

County of York Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the city of York. The so ...

and it was open as a County Park until 1956 when the County conveyed it to the Province. The property was then renamed as Sibbald Point Provincial Park and opened in 1957. Two of the major attractions in the park were constructed by the Sibbald family during the nineteenth century. The family home was purchased by Susan Sibbald from Major William Kingdom Rains in 1835. She supervised its transformation from a small cottage into a rural estate, a process which was completed in the 1840s. She named the structure Eildon Hall after the family estate in Scotland. Today the building serves as a museum dedicated to life in rural Ontario during the mid-nineteenth century. The museum is also known as the Sibbald Memorial Museum. An Ontario Historical Plaque was erected by the province to commemorate Eildon Hall's role in Ontario's heritage. Another important structure located adjacent to the park is St. George's Anglican Church. The church was built by Susan Sibbald's sons to replace an existing small wooden church, and was dedicated as a memorial to her. Completed in 1877, it ministers to the community to this day. Attached to the church is a small cemetery which contains the graves of many prominent citizens of the Lake Simcoe area including writers

Stephen Leacock Stephen Butler Leacock (30 December 1869 – 28 March 1944) was a Canadian teacher, political scientist, writer, and humourist. Between the years 1915 and 1925, he was the best-known English-speaking humourist in the world. Early life S ...

and

Mazo de la Roche Mazo de la Roche (; born Maisie Louise Roche; January 15, 1879 – July 12, 1961) was a Canadian writer who was the author of the ''Jalna (novel series), Jalna'' novels, one of the most popular series of books of her time. Biography Early lif ...

as well as musician Jim Schwalm. The park has camping facilities that are booked via Ontario Parks website.

References

External links

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Photo and information about Sibbald Memorial Museum
{{Authority control Provincial parks of Ontario Parks in the Regional Municipality of York Georgina, Ontario Protected areas established in 1957 1957 establishments in Ontario