The history of The Gatehouse®

The vision of The Gatehouse® and the restoration of this house was the creation of one man. Arthur Raymond Lockhart inspired many people with his idea to reach out to survivors of child abuse within this community. His vision is to give all survivors a place to tell their stories, to give them back their voices, to heal their wounds and to inspire them to see their own potential. This house is dedicated to this vision and this community.

The Gatehouse®, built in the 1890s, was the original doctor's house for the Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital. Abandoned for over 30 years, this building holds an important history in the Lakeshore area. Through the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and corporations, this abandoned historic building was completely renovated and carefully restored. A major renovation valued at over $300,000 was completed for under $30,000 because of the incredible support we received from our community.

Our history is an important part of who we are - we're very proud of our roots.

The beauty of this incredible community mobilization project is the continuum of support from volunteers and businesses that have been involved since the very beginning. We regularly have visitors who tell us that they painted the banisters, hung a special piece of art, helped to fund an early program, or made some other personal contribution to this house.

If these walls could talk, they'd tell stories of relationships, strength, courage and hope.

Our warmest thanks to everyone who came together to create this magical house.