grandson, Gerald Auld, and his wife Murielle. (See the Auld and MacMillan family histories).

The Lodge is ideally situated, on the high bluff at the tip of the Stanhope peninsula, between the waters of Covehead Bay and Harbour, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It has also a long and in- teresting history. The land at the end of the peninsula, the Point.was originally leased by Sir James Montgomery, the proprietor of Lot 34, to Cornelius Higgins Sr., a New Englander and brother of David Higgins, the Montgomery agent at Three Rivers (Georgetown). In 1789 Cornelius was paying 26.5.0 rent for 250 acres of this land, and in the 1798 census he is noted as living here with his wife, Isabella Lawson, and seven children (see the Higgins family history). Part of the 250 acres passed to Cornelius’ son Peter, and then to Peter’s sons James and John; and in 1838, 120 acres of it were leased by the Montgomery brothers (Sir James II, Robert, and Archibald, sons and heirs of the first Sir James) to Angus MacMillan, who was living at the Point in 1841 with his wife Sarah (Sally) Leitch. (see the Leitch history). The rent at this time was 212.0.0 per annum and 3 years of the 999 year lease had expired. A further 39 acres at the Point were rented by Angus from Sir Graham G. Montgomery (son of Sir James II) by a lease dated 10 March, 1855, and this land was the site of Angus’ farm home and the future Stanhope Beach Lodge. A map of 1854 shows Peter Higgins’ land sandwiched between Angus’ 39 acres at the extreme tip of the peninsula and 42 acres leased by Angus’ twin brother’Alex further inland. The 39 acres featured in the 1816 census as 40 acres leasehold, and in 1871 as 40 acres held in fee simple. On October 4, 1880 the 39 acres passed into the possession of Donald and James MacMillan, Angus’ sons, via the Commissioner for Public Lands, for the sum of $84.78. The hotel rates at this time were $1.50 a day, or $5.00 to $7.00 per week.

The twins, Angus and Alex, were born January 22, 1816 to Donald MacMillan and his wife Margaret Mutch, Donald having come from Lochaber, Argyllshire with his parents, Lauchlan MacMillan and Sarah MacPherson, on the brig Rambler, in 1806. Angus built his farm home “Pleasant View” around a log house nucleus, which could have been that of Cornelius Higgins; and the farm home was progressively enlarged as the MacMillans began to take in summer visitors. Whether the log house was Higgins or MacMillan in origin, the twelve—inch thick squared logs were discovered in the mid-19303 when a wall was being cut out in the front lounge, in order to have a stone fireplace built (by Samuel Arbing of Millcove).

Angus and Sally MacMillan operated their enlarged farm home as “Point Pleasant Hotel”, and it was said that ...it would be difficult to find any better accommodations as a summer tourist house with its

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