Abandoned French Mansion – Manoir Ogilvie

Located in a mountainous region of Quebec is the close to 100 year old Abandoned Manoir Ogilvie.





After her husband, a flour mill industrialist passed away in 1900, he left a fortune to his wife, Helen Johnston.   The total worth of the fortune was estimated to be roughly $2 million dollars which is equivalent to $60 million dollars today.  Helen then built a stunning English-American Queen Anne-style manor complete with all the latest in luxuries. The grounds also included barns & stables.





Some years later after Hellen's passing the mansion & lands became a part of a large recreational facility which eventually closed leaving the mansion abandoned. During the time it was part of the recreational facility the original design & architecture were untouched so upon visiting recently it was was like taking a step back in time!





It was the last day of an eight day road trip with Zenning with Zay & our GPS took us north of a major city to get around heavy morning rush hour traffic. That is when Zay asked if I had ever visited this mansion to which I replied no & let's go! Zay had first visited in 2016 & was excited to return to see what if anything had changed. As we made our way up she immediately noticed that all the boards that previously covered the windows had since been removed. At the time of her visit there were notices up about a movie soon to be filmed there requisting that anyone visiting kindly not damage or alter the building in anyway. One of the first things aside from the beautiful building was the awazing front porch with an enclosed sunroom!





Off the sunroom was a large room with a beautiful stone fireplace, hardwood floors & gorgeous wood beams in the ceiling. This room was massive & off of it was a smaller but still quite large room which I suspect was a library. Again, beautiful beams crisscrossed the ceiling &built in shelves & cupboards lined two of four walls. There was a small room off to one side that lead outside, as well, an open window area which I assumed was used to serve food though from a back kitchen area.





There was a fair sized kitchen at the right side of the house which seemed to be all original in layout & design. It was really cool seeing where the original wood fired stove had sat. Leading to the kitchen was an arched door way that led to the main stairs of the house. We'll get to those beauties shortly but first let's get through the rest of the main floor!





Off the main staircase was another corridor that led to a bathroom with a tub which seemed odd on the main floor where there weren't any bedrooms. Beyond that there was another kitchen on the left side of the house. Now let's get to the stairs!





As with any staircase I try to capture it from every angle to showcase their beauty & despite spindles missing, these did not disappoint! After reaching the staircase it became obvious that what I had originally assumed was the front was actually the back of the mansion & the front door led to the grand staircase!





As I reached the top of the stairs I was surprised to see yet another staircase leading to the third floor! But lets explore the second floor before moving on. Once again I shot the stairs from every angle as well as the corridor that ran from end to end of the mansion!





There were several bedrooms all with plenty of windows allowing plenty of sunlight it on all sides. I was quite impressed with how thick the walls were. Above the front door was a set of double doors leading out to a balcony. There was still one more bedroom, the master & it sure was incredible!





The master was very large featuring windwos overlooking the grounds, a beautiful stone fire place & smaller room off the one side. Obviously the bathtub was not originally there but it sure looked awesome for photos when I walked in!





The third flor had significantly lower ceilings & lacked all the luster evident in the frist two floors. This led me to believe that it could have been servants quarters as there was a full bathroom up there. There was also ample storage space! In all, I must say this was such an incredible explore that I did plan on visiting on a previous road trip however it was so far out of the way I never took the opportunity!

16 thoughts on “Abandoned French Mansion – Manoir Ogilvie”

  1. I just loved this place. I hope it isn’t left to fall to complete ruin. So beautiful!. With the stone fireplaces and coffered ceilings it sort of felt like a bit of a castle! Thanks for the explore and the historical research!

  2. Absolutely loved this, but so sad. Did you ever find out who owns the property now? Did Helen have any children it was left to? Or the city maybe? I’m surprised the city or somebody doesn’t try to keep it as a historical site before it’s too late. It’s spectacular and should be preserved. Thanks for the wonderful tour and sharing!

    1. This was a summer/vacation home. They owned a much larger home in the city & I feel the children (there were several) likely had no interest in it.

  3. Beautiful place. Someone keeps the grass cut. Looks like they would use that house as the clubhouse. Thanks

  4. Im sure it was absolutely stunning in its heyday..because it is still amazing.
    My husband and I watch many explorers but you have become our favorite.
    Thank you for bringing us along on all your exciting adventures!

  5. I just want to let you all know that the manoir has burned down totally during winter. Sad Sad Sad.

  6. This home belonged to my family. My grandfather purchased it some time in the 60s and sold it in the late 80s. I have a lot of pics and probably even some vhs video of my family’s time there. Please feel free to contact me directly.

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