Description of Historic Place

Limberlost, a cottage, is located away from the water’s edge at Batterman’s Point on Hill Island, in the St. Lawrence Islands National Park of Canada. The one-and-a-half storey frame building has a steeply pitched hipped roof with dormers. The cottage is clad in painted shingle siding and sits on a rubble-stone foundation. There is a hipped-roofed addition to the south side of the cottage. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

Limberlost is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental values.

Historical Value
Limberlost, due to its function as an outbuilding for a grand 19th-century cottage property in the Thousand Islands area, is associated with the cottage movement in Canada. Set within one of North America’s most prestigious cottage regions, Limberlost is associated with Grant Mitchell, Chairman of the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority, who owned Batterman’s Point from 1964 to 1982. As one of four extant structures dating from the early 20th century on the property, Limberlost is a visible reminder of Batterman’s Point’s grand past.

Architectural Value
Limberlost is valued for its very good aesthetics. It is a good example of Rustic architecture, incorporating local materials, Tudor Revival elements and whimsical detailing to achieve a picturesque quality. Extant Rustic elements include a rubble-stone foundation, cedar-shingle siding, hipped-roof dormers and peeled-log porch supports. Limberlost is a visible reminder of the importance of Rustic designs for cottage buildings. Good functional design is evidenced in the interior configuration, while good craftsmanship is evidenced in the masonry.

Environmental Value
Limberlost is compatible with the picturesque character of Batterman’s Point.

Sources: Kate MacFarlane, Twenty Eight Buildings, St. Lawrence Islands National Park, Ontario, Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office, Reports 93-023 through 93-038; Limberlost Cottage, Batterman’s Point, Hill Island, St. Lawrence Islands National Park, Ontario, Heritage Character Statement 93-030.

Character-Defining Elements

The following character-defining elements of Limberlost should be respected.

Its good aesthetics, good functional design and good quality craftsmanship, for example:
- the one-and-a-half storey massing;
- the incorporation of local materials and Rustic elements which contribute to the cottage’s picturesque quality, including a rubble-stone foundation, cedar-shingle siding, hipped-roof dormers and peeled-log porch supports;
- the hipped roof addition;
- the interior configuration, which illustrates good functional design.

The manner in which Limberlost reinforces the picturesque character of the setting as evidenced in:
- its remote location on a high elevation and heavily treed site, overlooking the St. Lawrence River.