It was remodeled in 1910 to install fifteen additional bathrooms, hot and cold water as well as telephones in every room, and steam heat furnaces so that the resort could be used year-round. Described in a 1915 summer newspaper advertisement under Resorts as an ideal vacation spot, "beautifully situated in large private park with picturesque grounds and a safe sandy beach." Able to accommodate four hundred guests, and offer every modern convenience for comfort and enjoyment at a special week-end rate of $5.00 from Saturday dinner to Monday after breakfast with a big dance each Saturday night, the hotel owner A.B. Coleman as early as March, 1917 negotiated with the military commission to rent the establishment for the use of returning wounded and convalescing soldiers.

An initial deal was said to have been reached between the Military Hospital Commission and Mr. Coleman for a yearly rental of $7,000, "but when the lease was drawn up for the signature a week later, Mr. Coleman refused to sign it," and held out for an annual rental amount of $12,000 which the commission declined to pay.

Having felt they had an agreement and in immediate need of the establishment, the commission decided to commandeer it, along with nine adjoining cottages. The proprietor insisted in a phone conversation with The Star that no request to turn the building over had been made, and that in his opinion the deal between himself and commission had been called off.

Coleman was powerless as the Brant House was quickly taken over and brought under the command of Colonel Wilson, officer of Unit E who stated that Mr. Coleman's statement was incorrect, that they had in fact made all attempts to broker a fair deal with him but when Mr. Coleman refused, the commission felt it had no recourse but to commandeer the hotel as the population of their military hospitals had increased significantly from under 2,000 in December to approximately 7,500.

The Military Hospital Commission gave Mr. Coleman until August 6th to vacate and in late July the hotel was closed to guests. Immediate plans were made to reconstruct the hotel to accommodate about 350 men and staff and provide various forms of treatment, including hydrotherapy and treatment of paralytics. The balconies were enclosed to be used as wards and sun rooms and the hundreds of windows filled the hospital with sunshine. The ballroom, which was situated on the top floor, was converted into a recreational room and a vocational building was built to offer classes on civil service preparation, wood-working, motor mechanics and those vocations which would deem of service to the men's future.

By January of 1918 the transformation had been made, and the handsome summer hotel, unsurpassed for its natural beauty on the lake, opened its doors. These returning soldiers, who suffered from wounds and diseases contracted during their service, now found themselves in a hospital with a "fine and capable staff" and having the advantage of "all the special devices known for treating men under surgical treatment."

The city of Burlington, and Mr. A.B. Coleman - in their own estimates and response to the new hospital, felt they had received a raw deal. The town felt it had lost revenues which were brought in by the vacationers at the summer resort, and Mr. Coleman felt unjustly compensated and began legal action to secure compensation for the loss of his business which he had built from the ground up and which had become such a popular resort for the wealthy Canadians and Americans alike.

The use of the hospital came to an end in September of 1923 when the government abruptly announced it was closing the facility and that most of the veterans would be transferred to Christie Street Hospital in Toronto with a few to be sent to the sanitarium in Hamilton.

As to Coleman, his legal battle ended on the 16th of February, 1926. Of the $500,000 Coleman had asked for in compensation, he received a little more than half of that amount - $120,000 and an additional $159,000, but he had not had the heart to re-open the facility as a resort and it remained vacant for ten years. Left to the elements, its floors and structure rotted away and it was demolished in February of 1937. All that's left of its grand presence which overlooked the shores of Burlington beach, are a few photographs and those cherished family memories of its vacationers.

The Brant Military Hospital is remembered on this website, not so much for its controversial history, nor even as beautiful resort hosting vaudeville entertainment, but as a sun-filled hospital where its staff and patients are remembered and honored for the service to their country.

If you know of a patient or staff member who worked or was a patient at the Brant Military, you may feel free to contacting Gene Beals.