In four parts:
In addition to the Shoenberger family, a number of other wealthy individuals from the United States also began making Cobourg their summer home. These included Pittsburgh industrialists William L. Abbott, F. G. Kay, James O'Hara Denny, George M. Howe, George Tener Oliver, Wallace Rowe, and Charles Speer, among others. Industrialists, military figures (e.g., General Orlando Metcalf Poe, General Charles Lane Fitzhugh), and politicians from throughout the United States joined the Pittsburghers as well. Even Nellie Grant, daughter of General, and later President, Ulysses S. Grant established a residence in Cobourg. [Reported to be the Tremain house on Monk street].
Wealthy Americans and Canadians from cities throughout North America constituted the core component of Cobourg's summer colony. Nonetheless, many working class families from the United States also visited Cobourg on a yearly basis. While wealthy families typically remained in town for months, their working class counterparts' visits usually lasted only a few brief hours. During this time, the working class families could stroll downtown or relax and picnic on the beach. Despite the short duration of their visits, working class families welcomed the opportunity to enjoy a quick, easy, and relatively inexpensive getaway to a foreign country.
Beyond differences in economic status, Cobourg's summer clientele also represented diverse geographic and political backgrounds. As discussed earlier, families from Pennsylvania and other parts of the northern United States first came to Cobourg for business-related reasons and later brought along their families. On the other hand, for families from the former Confederate states of the southern U.S., Cobourg's allure was related both to climatic conditions and the town's geographic location outside of the northern United States.
Northern and southern U.S. families sharing a foreign vacation destination immediately following the Civil War is worthy of note. However, the fact that an appreciable number of these visitors were also veterans of the Confederate and Union Armies - representing every military rank from private to general - made Cobourg's summer colony truly unique.
The Summer Colony's Social Activities
Between 1867 and the 1880s, the summer colony's social activities largely centered
around the Arlington and other hotels in town. Social activities of this period
were generally slower paced than the activities of later decades. "Hops," soirees,
and other events often took place in the hotels with U.S. and Canadian families
hosting and/or attending the festivities.
Above house was built in 1857 by Kivas Tully and remodelled in 1860 by Major David Campbell, it was then bought by William Abbott in 1902 who enlarged and again remodelled the house. It was then used as a Private hospital known as Sidbrook.