Llewellyn Hall
First constructed in the 1880s, Llewellyn Hall was constructed for James Odgers Guy and his family. Before moving to Llewellyn Hall, the Guys lived in a house at the lakeshore which later became known as Guy House, one of the houses that today comprises the Oshawa Museum. The name came from Guy’s son, Llewellyn Harold, who had passed away. The family lived in the home until 1897.
Robert Samuel McLaughlin purchased the home from the Guys. Robert lived in the home with his wife Adelaide, and all five daughters, Eileen, Mildred, Isobel, Hilda, and Eleanor were born there. This was the McLaughlin family home until 1917, when they moved into Parkwood Estate.
Robert and Adelaide McLaughlin, under the names of the McLaughlin Carriage Company, the McLaughlin Motor Car Company and Chevrolet Motor Car Company of Canada, gifted their home to the Oshawa General Hospital, for $1, to be used as a maternity hospital. Adelaide was president of the Hospital Auxiliary, and at the formal opening of the maternity hospital, she stated that she hoped “all future mothers in this house may be as happy as I was when here.”
The first baby girl was born the day it formally opened on Wednesday, July 12, 1917, delivered to Mrs. F. Patfield by Dr. F. J. Rundle. The Great Influenza epidemic swept through the Maternity Ward in 1918. It was reported that ninety-five percent of the babies in the Ward passed away.
One of the last babies to be born at the Maternity Ward was in 1919 before it was sold to the Presbyterian Church in Canada to be a home for children in missionary families of the United Church of Canada. For the next twenty-nine years, Adelaide McLaughlin offered her support through various means, financially, socially and advisory to the residents, Matrons, and staff. It is asserted that 160 children lived at Llewellyn Hall during the 29 years it served as a home for missionary children. These children lived together, went to school together and, indeed, were often “seen as a distinct group, identified as a group, and reported on as a group. It was unusual to enter a store or a show without being pointed to as a Llewellyn Hall resident” (History of Llewellyn Hall, page 2). The property boasted not only the residence, but also a coach house, volleyball courts, tennis courts, a gazebo, and a pool, although the pool was filled in 1924.
The final years of Lewellyn Hall were spent as the location of education and worship, after being purchased in 1948, by the Oshawa Hebrew Congregation. By 1952, the number Jewish families in Oshawa outgrew the space, and the building was torn down to build the new Beth Zion synagogue, which still stands today.
