Captain Henry Pellatt, father of Henry Mills Pellatt who is known as the builder of Casa Loma in Toronto built Southwood Hall in 1883 as his family summer home..

In 1892, at the age of 62 Captain Henry retired to his Orillia home. When his wife (Emma Mary Holland) died in 1901, his oldest daughter, Mary Kate, along with her daughter, Beatrix, joined him there.
Beatrix's move to Orillia caught the attention of another summer visitor Stephen Leacock, resulting in thier marriage.

Captain Henry Pellatt was quite active socially, and prided himself on his picturesque summer resort on the shores of Lake Couchiching.
His estate was greatly admired for its natural beauty, running streams, its drives, tennis courts and croquet lawns.
Of course, the Captain's steam-powered boat, "Lorna Doone", was docked here, along with smaller pleasure boats.

In 1909, the Orillia Packet wrote of Captain Henry Pellatt, "He always identified himself with the social life of Orillia, and for many years Southwood was, in fact, one of its principal centers. In the eighties and nineties, "Tuesday evening at Souhwood" was one of the recognized institutions of the town. On that evening, Mr. and Mrs. Pellatt kept open house for all their friends, a group which embraced a large proportion of the townspeople and practically all the summer visitors...".

The home was demolished in 1927 and replaced by a stone house.