06/20/2026
When you enter Willowbank Cemetery from you will see the only mausoleum on the property. A mausoleum is a structure designed to hold human remains above ground. It is usually intended as a memorial and often has architectural or decorative significance. The word comes from the tomb of Mausolus, whose monumental tomb at Halicarnassus became one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
The Skinner Family Mausoleum at Willowbank has an interesting story. Frederick James Skinner was one of the most important industrial figures in the history of Gananoque during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was born on April 8, 1867, the son of industrialist Sylvester Case Skinner. He took over the leadership of the family firm, Skinner Company Ltd. after his father’s death in 1903. Under his direction the company evolved from manufacturing agricultural tools, carriage hardware, and later components of automobile assembly. The Skinner Works along the Gananoque River became one of the town’s major employers. During the First World War, production shifted to military hardware. After the war, the firm manufactured chrome automobile bumpers for companies connected with General Motors. In 1929 after the company was sold, production moved to Oshawa , Ontario which marked the gradual decline of Gananoque as a major industrial centre. F.J. Skinner also served as Conservative MPP for Leeds from 1926 until his death in 1933. Socially and architecturally, he left a large mark on Gananoque. He built a large factory on the Gananoque River as well as the impressive Skinner House at 95 King Street West in 1905, now designated as a heritage property . F.J Skinner was very active in the community, supporting such causes as better Trunk roads for automobiles, conservation of fish and game, Public School improvements and the Board of Trade.
The er****on of the large granite mausoleum in a neoclassic style with art deco elements at the junction of the oval roadway at the entrance, created a great deal of concern at the Annual General Meeting of Willowbank Cemetery in 1935. At this meeting, some interment rights holders requested by letter, “ Who sold the land for the Skinner mausoleum?”, “Who gave the deed?”, “Who signed it?” and … “Where did the authority come from to do so?” The er****on of the mausoleum seems to be shrouded in mystery. The triangular piece of land used was not actually part of the original survey for plots but rather part of a road allowance. It was at the height of the Great Depression and perhaps the Cemetery Board at that time had more pressing concerns and were not as vigilant as they should have been. A motion was passed by the directors to form a committee to go to Kingston and obtain legal advice regarding the removal of the Skinner Mausoleum. In the proceeding Minute Books following this meeting there is no evidence to show that any legal advice was given or whether there was any sort of compromise or agreement between the Skinner family and the Board of Directors. The Skinner Family Mausoleum has had a number of interments over the intervening years and presently there are about two spaces left.
