Muskoka Ontario

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History of Muskoka

The Townships were opened for settlement following the passage of the Free Grants & Homesteads Act in 1868. Before this, officials considered turning all of Muskoka into a Native Reserve. The desire for land, coupled with the district's rich timber resources, compelled the government to reconsider. The Free Grants and Homesteads Act gave 100 acres of land to anyone who would build a house and clear 15 acres within five years’ time. The head of a family “having children under 18 years of age residing with him” could claim another 100 acres.

The Muskoka Lakes are treasured by residents, cottagers and tourists alike. Visit the many Muskoka Resorts for the tourist. Many travelers seek traditional cottages for weekends or for their summer vacations. Waterfront cottages have become one of the most sought after pieces of land in Canada.

Muskoka Ontario and its endless blue lakes, countless islands and stretches of sandy beaches is the perfect setting for a pleasurable escape. Its three big lakes - Joseph, Rosseau and Muskoka - and their several lakeside and riverside communities including Bracebridge, Gravenhurst, Huntsville, Port Carling, Bala, Milford Bay, Rosseau, Glen Orchard, Torrance, Port Sandfield, are a perennial playground for tourists, cottagers and residents.

Bracebridge Muskoka

The falls were the reason Bracebridge grew when many other Muskoka settlements did not. North Falls, (as they were first called) was the end of navigable water on the Muskoka River and the best place for the Muskoka Colonization Road to cross the North Branch. The junction of road and water thus formed was the nucleus of Bracebridge.

A village in1875 and a Town of 1889, Bracebridge is the official business, and very nearly the geographic, center of Muskoka.

In the heart of Muskoka, Bracebridge offers tourists and cottagers attractions and events year round including the world famous Santa's Village, Festival of the Falls, numerous arts and craft shows, the Silver Bridge, the Hydro Generating Station, quaint downtown shopping, biking, hiking and walking trails, great parks, boating, fishing and peace and relaxation.

Gravenhurst, the Gateway to Muskoka, and halfway to the North Pole, has a very special history because of its location on Lake Muskoka and its proximity to many other smaller lakes.

Until 1815 the Muskoka country was wholly Indian, mostly nomadic tribes. The only white men were explorers passing through with Indian guides and fur traders collecting the rich beaver pelts to be shipped to Europe.

In 1826 Lieutenant Henry Biscoe, with a small party of officers, set out with an Indian guide to survey the waterways north of Lake Simcoe. They traveled down the Severn River, into Morrison and Muldrew Lakes, portaging when necessary and into Lake Muskoka using the light Indian birch bark canoes. From there they ascended the Muskoka River to the Lake of Bays and through a chain of lakes in Algonquin Park to the Petawawa River, and finally the Ottawa River. Surveyors were then sent out to map the area and to determine its suitability for colonization.

In 1859 the Muskoka Road was opened connecting Severn to McCabes Landing, the future site of Gravenhurst. Mr. and Mrs. James McCabe, the best known of the early pioneers, served meals and provided beds for the weary travelers in a log dwelling they called "Free Mason Arms". A community soon developed and the Gravenhurst Post Office opened in 1862.

Gateway to the Muskoka Lakes, Gravenhurst is located 168 kms north of Toronto, Canada. A town rich in tradition and natural beauty, Gravenhurst is the cultural heart of Muskoka and home to the Segwun since 1887.

The restored 1901 Opera House hosts theatre all summer long, and other events year round. Gravenhurst is the birthplace of Dr. Norman Bethune, remembered as a field surgeon and medical educator in China. Restored to its 1890 appearance, Bethune Memorial House is open year round.

Huntsville is the largest municipality in the District of Muskoka, with a population of over 18,000. Huntsville is located near the Algonquin Provincial Park, making it a natural stop on the way to your trail or camping expedition into the park. Huntsville is also the home to Muskoka Heritage Place. A must visit.

Port Carling, Muskoka’s oldest community, began as an Ojibway settlement. The natives called it Obajewanung, meaning "gathering place.” Europeans called the settlement "Indian Gardens." As more white settlers came to the area, the Ojibway relocated to Parry Island, near Parry Sound. In 1860, when surveyor Vernon Wadsworth visited, there were twenty native homes in Port Carling and plenty of cleared land where they grew their crops.

In 1869 Benjamin Hardcastle Johnston applied for a post office. His application was accepted and a post office was established at Baisong Rapids, on the Indian River. Johnston named the post office Port Carling in honour of John Carling (1869). John Carling, the Minister of Public Works had been instrumental in building the locks. These locks would open navigation between Lakes Muskoka and Rosseau. Port Carling was incorporated as a village in June 1896, with a population of 110 people.

Port Carling is always buzzing with endless activities. The town's famous locks, linking Lakes Muskoka and Rosseau, produce a daily parade of motor boats as pleasure craft, construction barges and cruisers lock through. The town has a prominent position in Muskoka's boat building history, and this heritage is proudly displayed at the Muskoka Lakes Museum.

Scottish-born Thomas Burgess named the community of Bala after the Bala Lake District in Wales. He arrived in 1868 and set up a sawmill on the Mill Stream. In time he also opened a general store, bakeshop, blacksmith shop and supply boat service and post office.

In 1917 the Burgess family helped establish a hydroelectric facility on the site of Thomas’s original sawmill. This generating station supplied power for much of the Medora and Wood Townships. Bala officially became a town in 1914. Dr. A.M. Burgess, a son of Bala’s founder Thomas Burgess, was the first Mayor in Bala.

The wide open sky, the clean relaxing waters, the rugged landscape, all waiting for your arrival. Bala is built around the junction of Lake Muskoka and the Moon River; with the wilds of nature on our doorstep and recreational activities all around, Bala will comfortably remove you from the hectic pace of everyday life.

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