Harrington Lake
| Harrington Lake La résidence du lac Mousseau (French) |
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| General information | |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival style |
| Town or city | Gatineau, Quebec |
| Country | Canada |
| Coordinates | 45°33′14″N 75°55′46″W / 45.55389°N 75.92944°WCoordinates: 45°33′14″N 75°55′46″W / 45.55389°N 75.92944°W |
| Current tenants | Prime Minister of Canada |
| Construction started | 1925 |
| Owner | The Queen in Right of Canada |
| Landlord | National Capital Commission |
| Technical details | |
| Size | 16 room home on 5.4-hectare (13-acre) property |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Macpherson Edwards |
| Lac Mousseau | |
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| Location | Gatineau Park, Quebec |
| Coordinates | 45°34′10″N 75°57′24″W / 45.56944°N 75.95667°W |
| Basin countries | Canada |
Harrington Lake (French: La résidence du lac Mousseau) estate is the name of the summer residence and all-season retreat of the Prime Minister of Canada and also the name of the land which surrounds it. It is located near Meech Lake – where the Meech Lake Accord was negotiated in 1987 – approximately 35 kilometres northwest of Ottawa, in Gatineau Park, amidst the Gatineau Hills in Quebec. The estate is not open to the public, but the Mackenzie King Estate, the retreat of Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King at Kingsmere, is a tourist attraction 2 kilometres south in the park.
Since 1986, the 5.4-hectare (13-acre) property at Harrington Lake has been managed by the NCC. The property includes four recreational buildings; the land, which formerly consisted of cultivated fields, has reverted to secondary forest.
In addition to the main cottage with its fine view over the lake, the Harrington estate includes the following structures:
The lake itself and the area around it are referred to as Lac Mousseau. The name Harrington is thought to be a misspelling of Hetherington, the name of a family which settled in this area. The French name Mousseau comes from another early settler to the area, Louis Mousseau who bought property here in 1867.
The retreat is accessed by Chemin de Lac Meech with a gatehouse, staffed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, at the driveway of the retreat. The Prime Minister's motorcade accesses Harrington Lake from Ottawa via Quebec Autoroute 5.
Several families came in the 19th century to settle the Harrington Lake area, including the Harrington and the Mousseau families. The lake eventually became known as “Harrington Lake” in English and “lac Mousseau” in French. The Mousseau family had built a farm on the shores of the lake, which remained in the family for several decades. Since the land was not suitable for farming, the lumber industry replaced it as the primary economic activity. In the early 20th century, two Americans, W. A. Drum and W. L. Donnelly, built a sawmill at Harrington Lake to serve the lumber industry.
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Wikipedia