In front of you stands Owl's Head, the emblematic mountain of the Township of Potton. Reaching 753 meters (nearly 2,500 feet), the mountain offers to those who reach its summit a magnificent panoramic view of the mountains and valleys of the region as well as of Lake Memphremagog.
According to legend, the Abenakis, who have fished and portaged in the area for several centuries, named the mountain “Owl’s Head” in honor of their late great chief Owl. For them, it is a sacred place protected by the serpent-warrior Anaconda, a lake monster that hides in a cave under the waters of Memphremagog at the foot of Owl’s Head.
Attracted perhaps by its spiritual character, in 1857 the Freemasons of the Golden Rule Lodge no.5 in Stanstead founded a lodge in the natural chamber at the top of the mountain. Reminiscent of an amphitheatre, it is in this open-air lodge, unique in the world, that the Freemasons have held an initiation ritual every summer solstice for over 160 years.
In the 19th century, it was not the monsters or the Freemasonry mysticism that attracted the curious, but rather the beauty of the mountain and the joy of climbing it. It must be said that at that time, the tumult of urban and industrial life pushed a growing number of city dwellers to the countryside to recharge their batteries in contact with nature. The region also attracted famous painters, such as W.H. Bartlett and Cornelius Krieghoff, who painted it in a romantic style.
These paintings fed the imagination of tourists, who were becoming more and more numerous in the second half of the 19th century. Traveling by steamboat, railroad or stagecoach, these vacationers invaded the hotels, including the Mountain House located at the foot of Owl's Head, accessible only by boat! This luxury establishment opened from 1845 to 1899 and offered its 150 guests water sports, fishing, and excursions to the top of the mountain.
For the traveler looking for a health spa stay, there was a little further north the Potton Spring Hotel, which opened from 1875 to 1934. The sulphurous spring at the foot of Mount Pevee attracted visitors from all over the world, who also came to the hotel to enjoy the sumptuous entertainment room.
The craze for the mountain and its surroundings intensified in the 20th century with mass tourism and the advent of the automobile. In 1965, Fred Korman, the son of German immigrants who settled in the township in 1926 and a very active businessman in Potton, opened a ski hill and later on, a golf course. The area became popular as a recreational and tourist center, attracting the sport and nature lover alike.