Sunnyside: The Johnson House
Built around 1875, Sunnyside House is one of Magog's finest heritage landmarks. It tells the story of the Johnson family, whose remarkable journey is marked by fascinating characters, intriguing stories and a rich cultural legacy.
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The Johnson Legend
Countless myths and legends surround, and even dwell within, Lake Memphremagog. The Johnson family, the force behind the construction of this magnificent residence, is no exception to this rule. Jonathan Johnson V (1760-1830), the ancestor of the Magog Johnsons and a veteran of the Continental Army, settled in Hatley Township in 1802. During his lifetime, J. Johnson never achieved fame. It was in the 1860s, more than 30 years after his death, that his son, Abel, shared his father’s incredible story with a historian who later reported it in newspapers and in one of his books.
The story goes as follows: Johnson reportedly participated in the Battle of Ticonderoga (it is unclear whether this refers to the capture of the fort in 1775 or the siege in 1777) and was taken prisoner there by Indigenous people working with the British. Brutally tortured, he and the other soldiers were allegedly saved because one of their captors belonged, as did one of the military men, to the Freemasons. Thus, they survived until reaching the POW camp at Quebec, where they spent three years before being sent back to New England.
It is a beautiful legend... but one not supported by the sources. It turns out that Johnson was actually captured during the Battle of Cobleskill in New York State, further south than Ticonderoga, on May 30th 1778, by the Loyalist troops of Sir John Johnson. Sent to Quebec, apparently without being tortured, he was returned to the United States from Baie-Saint-Paul in April 1780.
Sunnyside
It was J. Johnson's son, Abel Boynton (1803-1867), who settled in Magog in 1832. Although he married the granddaughter of Ebenezer Hovey, he has no direct links to the incredible Manoir Hovey in North Hatley. He chose the vastness of Memphremagog, in the village then known as The Outlet, rather than the shores of the Massawippi.
Moving slightly away from the urban core created by the Merry family, whose house still exists on the edge of the point of the same name, he acquired a large amount of land north of what is today Saint-Patrice Street West. It was there, around 1875, that his son Edwin Ruthven (1844-1893) built this sumptuous residence nicknamed Sunnyside. Designed in the Second Empire style with a mansard roof and detailed brackets, it is impressive for its size and its turret. Its style was possibly inspired by another beauty in Magog, set at 85 Merry Street South, built in 1867 and known today as the Château du Lac.
The Poetess
In this world of phenomenal scenic beauty that inspired 19th-century paintings and the poems of Alfred Desrochers, such as Mount Orford, it is no surprise that E.R. Johnson had
a sister who was a poetess. Helen Mar (1834-1863), though still young, began writing for local newspapers. Soon, her poems, which combined religiosity with a connection to space and nature, achieved great success, even being used in Canadian classrooms.
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