THE HISTORY OF WEIR'S FOLLY - ................................................Return to Old Resorts PageOn October 25, 1916, a 200-acre free land grant was given to George Smith the Elder of Hydro Glen, presumably as a gift for his service to his country. He built a lodge on the shore of the property, located just west of Hydro Glen on the north side of the Severn River.
In July of 1920, George Stuart Weir of Pittsburgh (I 864-1940) and a group of ftiends traveled to the SparrowLake area for the first time. They stayed at Mr.Smith's lodge which was called PairPoint (sometimes written as Paer Point). He returned every year.
On June 24, 1922, George Smith the Elder passed away. George Weir purchased the property from his widow, Katherine, on August 6,1923, for $2800.00. George enjoyed sharing the extraordinary view and the fantastic fishing with his family and friends. In 1928, he changed the name of the lodge to Weir's Folly (a folly' is defined as "any foolish but expensive undertaking").
The lodge had enough rooms to host 40 guests at a time (George and his wife, Anna Shaw Weir, had their own, separate, cabin). Creature comforts included a bathhouse and a "4-holer" outhouse. A gazebo, boathouse, recreation (pool) hall, sliding board, ballfield complete with bleachers, gardens, and of course the river, provided all sorts of activities for the guests. The gardens served another purpose; along with a pigpen, chicken coop, and ice house, all the ingredients were on hand for a hearty meal after a day of fun. What, you may wonder, was the cost for all of this sun, fun, and food? $2.00 per guest, per day - a price that included sleeping quarters, three big meals, church service transportation, Saturday night dances, and use of the boats! For nearly 20 years, Weir's Folly was a place where people could swim, boat, fish, and just relax in the idyllic setting. Although mainly a placefor R & R, it wasn't without its perils. For example, George would drive to the lodge from Pittsburgh in the dead of winter (no smallfeat!) to cut huge blocks of ice from the river to store for the coming season. One year, he lost an entire team of horses when it fell through the ice!
For years, Jim Weir (1920-) George's nephew, and Jim's father, Wilson, would take 'Aunt Ann'and 'Uncle George' to the P&LE Railroad Station in Pittsburgh to board the train for Canada, and then
pick them up at the station in thefall upon their return. 7he whistle stop where they disembarked was at the RR BRIDGE HYDRO GLEN. Their journey from Pittsburgh most likely included stops in Buffalo, Toronto and Washago, before the stop at Hydro Glen.
Jim made his first trip to Weir's Folly in July 1937 with his father Wilson and a group of friends.
They set a new land speed record o 9 1/2 hours! (It now takes 7 hours).
Soon after, in January 1940, George tragically passed away in a fire at his home in Pittsburgh. It was an ironic death, as George was president of the Western PA Volunteer Fire Association and O'Hara Township chief, and had founded the Pleasant Valley Fire Department. At the time of his death, he had a fire truck in his garage that was being repaired in anticipation of yet another volunteer fire company he was organizing. Aunt Ann spent 10 months in the hospital recuperating from her many broken bones, after having jumped from a second story window to escape the fire. She lived a full life to the age of 93, although she never returned to Weirs Folly.
Afterwards, the lodge sat abandoned for nearly 20 years. George and his wife had no children of their own, and, except for Wilson, George's other siblings (Lou, John, and Daisy) were spread across the country and had no interest in the property. The Boy Scouts offered to purchase the land, but the offer was rejected. However, a deal was arranged through Wilson where the Scouts would use the property in return for paying the yearly taxes. This deal went on until the early 1950's.
In1959, Jim and Ruth moved their family from Charleston, West Virginia to Pittsburgh. The following year, Jim, Ruth, and three of their five children - Peg, George, and Will - traveled to Weir's Folly to see the property. Jane and Bob (Flame) stayed home, as they were too young for the trip. The Weirs stayed at Torpitton Sparrow Lake and traveled back and forth in a rented 1O hp boat.
In the summer of 1961, Jim hired John Patterson to tear down what was left of the lodge and build the cottage as it is today. The workers were to be paid by the hour. Jim,miles away in Pittsburgh, was a bit skeptical of this, but Patterson was a fellow Scotsman, and he felt they could trust each other. Jim thought the rate of $6.50 an hour was a pretty steep wage, until he was told that the $6.50 an hour was for THREE workers!
Progress continued all summer long. The boards on the old lodge were turned "inside out" to create the present cottage. Jim had the marvelous idea of having a father /son week, with an ulterior motive. He and the other 1O fathers got all of the trim taped sanded and painted in 1& 1/2 hours. Of course, they used the labor of the 22 sons!
Over the years, Jim's family, along with his sister Jane Weir Hutchison (1919-1994) and her husband Bob "Hutch " Hutchison, have had many fun times here. Hutch and Jane stopped making the long journey in the early 1980's, and purchased their own place one hour from their Pittsburgh home in Ridgeview, PA. They sold their share of the cottage to Jim in 1988.
The fish stories, rattlesnakes, bonfires, horseshoe games, bad jokes, breath taking sunsets, water skiing, mosquitoes, great dinners, Rat Lake journeys, Adirondack-pie breakfasts, star-filled nights and wonderful memories carry on to this day.
This is the story, in words , of the creation of Weir's Folly. ............................Return to Homepage
Click here for old photos of lodge