Origins of La Grange 

For the original owners, Mary Anne and RAJ (Bob) Phillips, the Grange was truly a labour of love. The Grange was a pioneer barn built in 1819. In the early 1970s, Bob and Mary Anne saved it from destruction on a farm near Carleton Place some 75 kilometres away in Ontario. They rebuilt it log-by-log as their retirement home on their property by the Gatineau River. They filled it with Canadiana antiques, and filled it with people from the myriad of associations and causes they supported, people from the local community, and friends from across Canada and around the world.

 

Disaster

After Mary Anne died in 1990, Bob continued their traditions in the Grange until disaster struck in 1992: the Grange caught fire and burned. The log walls survived, although charred, and only some small sections were intact. But Bob – by this time a septuagenarian – decided to once again give the Grange a new re-birth, so he re-built it and rescued and restored what contents he could.

  

La Grange today

After Bob Phillips died at the age of 81 in 2003, it seemed that this labour of love and such a piece of Canadian heritage must be saved for future generations. With a history of reincarnations like the Grange’s, the Phillips survivors set out to let it live again. Brigid Phillips Janssen established it as a not-for-profit organization, La Grange de la Gatineau. The idea was to open the Grange to the public so that many people could appreciate the history and lovely natural setting that is La Grange; and to use La Grange to support causes that the Phillips family have all always valued. Today, Brigid, and her husband, Rod, are involved in La Grange de la Gatineau. And their daughter Emma is the charming, bilingual member of staff who helps clients to plan events, who receives our guests at concerts, and helps keep the office efficient and the website and Facebook full of updated, helpful information. 

Full History of La Grange

For the full history of La Grange de la Gatineau, please click here.