Harrington Lake Diefenbaker suggested that he needed a quiet place to go fishing, not too far from Ottawa. Later that year, Harrington Lake was chosen as the site for an official country residence and the buildings were formally designated as a secure residence for Canada’s prime ministers. During the first prime ministership of Pierre Trudeau, his then-wife, Margaret, added a vegetable garden; according to Kim Campbell's autobiography "Time and Chance", the garden still provided the house with fresh produce at the time of that writing. Campbell was the only Prime Minister to have spent her entire term in office residing at Harrington
Harrington Park (homestead) of the "Harrington Park" estate. The Court ruled that the remnant parts of the estate be divided between Alexander and John Campbell. The remaining portion (with the homestead on it) was sold at auction to the highest bidder, Sydney leather dealer James Rofe for ₤1,775, together with the under lease. The enforced sale ended the Campbell's interest in "Harrington Park". It appears that Rofe's interest was purely speculative for he sold the diminished Harrington Park to Abraham Davy in 1853. When Abraham Davy purchased "Harrington Park" in 1853, the property still had a significant amount of open forest and bushland.