In 1929, R.J. ("Bob") Filberg, manager and superintendent of the giant Comox Logging and Railway Company, and his wife Florence commissioned master builder William Haggarty to build a rustic summer lodge on top of a part of the Great Comox Midden on the shores of Comox Bay. The resulting structure incorporated local stone and timber, as well as a native petroglyph and British naval cannonballs. Although the lodge was intended only as a summer residence, the Filbergs were so entranced by it that they made it their full-time residence in 1935, and continued to add outbuildings and gardens on the grounds.