G. Arthur Burgess
Mayor of Carleton Place – 1903 & 1921 – Mill Owner.
Burgess House — This Must Have Been the Auction of the Year in Carleton Place
The wall murals in Season 1 of the popular F/X show American Horror Story are a series of odd paintings found in the living room by the new owners of a California home.
While restoring the house, former owners Chad Warwick and Patrick covered up the murals with wallpaper. Vivien Harmon, strips all the wallpaper when she begins to renovate, only to reveal the odd masterpieces. So have any murals been found under wallpaper here in Carleton Place? According to Heritage Carleton Place it seems there have been.
Burgess House
Address: 249 Lake Ave East, Carleton Place, Ontario
The Burgess house was built in 1900 for Arthur Burgess who was a wealthy local businessman, and served as Mayor of Carleton Place in 1903 and in 1922. This grand brick home with it’s circular driveway, massive front porch, and original carriage house is a fine example of Victorian architecture of the time. The home features fine oak trim throughout, and a grand entrance hall with a number of stained glass windows.
In 1987, when the house was being renovated, it was discovered behind layers of wallpaper there were actual murals painted on the walls. On one wall they discovered a painting of a steam engine travelling through the Fraser Valley in BC with a snowy winter scene with a log cabin. When all the wallpaper was completing removed, the homeowners at the time found several other scenes painted on the walls by an artist. It is believed the artist of the wall murals was a Mr. Grant who was a brother in-law of Arthur Burgess.
How cool is that?
lindaseccaspina 
This is a very interesting write-up. The late Myrtle Lambert owned the estate. We contacted the Executors and negotiated an agreed purchase price. Brian and Audrey Kealey resided at 249 Lake Ave. E for 20 years…June 3, 1983-Sept 2003.
There were 6 one-bedroom apts. with 7 bathrooms, a laundry room, a storage room, a new basement bedroom was reconstructed out of a very cold vegetable storage room. A new aliding glass window was installed. Off this room was a very small cold storage room. In addition in the basement was a music room, a single bedroom and the furnace room. There was an exit outdoors opposite the powder room.
Surrounding the walls of Mayor Burgess quiet room with a wood stove were oil painted paintings of his travels in Europe above a plate rail.
We had wonderful adult tenants from various walks in life. During our stay, there was severe damage to the building due to blasting for installation of the Town services and street (Patterson Crescent) for the new Strawberry Meadows sub-division at the rear of the building. The sub-division ran into financial difficulties and was taken over by another company.
During the renovations as a result of the blasting damage, oil paintings were found surrounding the walls at the ceilings in what was Apt. 2 at the time. Historical Society in Carleton Place were contacted about these paintings which it was determined they represented Mayor Burgess travel across Canada by train. Each segment of his travel was divided by a cluster of 3 pine trees. The scene painted over the fire place was fascinating with the glittering snow, small people, a sled with horses in tow to a cabin.
The story goes that someone fell down the winding stairs to the basement (Mr. Burgess quiet room) and died. Those stairs were closed off to make a large clothes closet up stairs in Apt. 1
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Thank you much for this information and I will add it and credit you in the two other blogs I did.,,
The Wall Mystery Art of Lake Ave East
https://lindaseccaspina.wordpress.com/2015/12/26/the-wall-mysteries-of-lake-ave-east-residential-artists/
and
The Crazy Town World of Mr. George Arthur Burgess of Carleton Place
https://lindaseccaspina.wordpress.com/2015/12/14/the-crazy-town-world-of-mr-george-arthur-burgess-of-carleton-place/
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I am a volunteer at the museum and have seen all the files..What a great history it has and thank you so much for this.. Thank you.. HUGGGG
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This house always fascinated me. When I was a lad the house was owned by a Mr. Feltham (sic) who ran a rag business out of a former hotel on the west side of Moore Street in the area beside Interval house that was torn down in the 1950’s and replaced with a Cities Service gas station.
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Ray do you remember the name of that hotel? Thank you..
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Late today.. as usual great info
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