The Rideau Ferry Inn Dancing in theMoonlight
By JIM HURCOMB
To describe the history of the Rideau
Ferry Inn as “colourful” doesn’t really live up to the Inn’s incredible history. Today, the Inn is a popular vacation
getaway spot, halfway between Smiths Falls and Perth, perfect for families and fisher-people. And, unlike early patrons, you might
even survive the night. It might be legend, just a ghost story
for around the campfire, but old-timers in the region still talk in hushed tones about John Oliver, who ran a small inn next to his Rideau River Ferry. When
The Ferry Inn, in its more respectable
form, was born as the Coutts House in 1853. In 1870 it was converted into a summer hotel. The Inn changed hands many times over the years. In 1947, the Coutts House was torn down and a shining new Rideau Ferry Inn was built. Between 1947 and 1964 music fans
relatives and friends started asking around about his patrons who mysteriously disappeared, people started to get suspicious about John. Years after John was himself murdered in the woods, his Inn was torn down to make way for a bridge. In the ruins they found human
bones in the walls and under 48 BOUNDER MAGAZINE
the floors. (Can’t wait for the HBO series on that place.)
came from as far away as Kingston and Ottawa to dance in the moonlight to big bands like Tommy Dorsey, Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, Shorty Metcalfe and the Giants, the Starlighters from Ottawa and Buddy Rich. It was a glorious time in Eastern
Ontario, with wonderful dance pavilions like Scott’s Ballroom in Westport, Lakeside Gardens in Barry’s Bay, Standish Hall in Hull and the Chaudière Club in Gatineau. Here in Ottawa, for a nickel you could
ride the streetcar to the end of the line to dance and romance at Lakeside Gardens at Britannia Beach to the mellow sounds of Berkley Kidd and his Orchestra. But the times and musical tastes took
a dramatic turn in 1964 when the Beatles arrived. Rock and Roll took over from the big bands, and it was a Smiths Falls band called the Continentals who took over as the house band at the Rideau Ferry Inn. Today, Dennis Staples sits behind the big desk as Mayor of Smiths Falls. It’s
www.bounder.ca
Photo by GORDON KEITH
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