Stories Of Early Muskoka Days

A story about the settlement of communities in the Free Grant Lands and of pioneer life in Muskoka.

The authors explore the tragic history of communities whose stars have long since faded, and the people who once lived, loved, and laboured in them.

The history of Ontario's premier cottage destination, Muskoka, was not commonplace or uneventful. Beginning in the 1860's, emigrants from the British Isles and Europe were lured to this desolate region with the promise of free land grants for farming. What they found were mature forests, swamp, and never ending rock. Their heroic attempts to make a living farming on the Precambrian Shield did not come without considerable discomfort. Pioneer Muskoka documents the struggles faced by these early homesteaders and their response to hardship, isolation, disease and poverty. This is the tale of a community banding together to overcome fear with courage and determination. Readers will be astounded by the lengths these settlers went in their quest to make a home for themselves and future generations in Muskoka. The eventual shift from farming to more profitable industries such as lumber and tourism brought a shift in attitude towards this now highly sought after locale. The first families, through their enormous efforts, were able to create this positive and enduring change....

Ghost Towns of Muskoka explores the tragic history of a collection of communities from across Muskoka whose stars have long since faded. Today, these ghost towns are merely a shadow – or spectre – of what they once were. Some have disappeared entirely, having been swallowed by regenerating forests, while others have been reduced to foundations, forlorn buildings, and silent ruins. A few support a handful of inhabitants, but even these towns are wrapped in a ghostly shroud. But this book isnt only about communities that have died. Rather it is about communities that lived, vibrantly at that, if only for a brief time. Its about the people whose dreams for a better life these villages represented; the people who lived, loved, laboured, and ultimately died in these small wilderness settlements. And its about an era in history, those early heady days of Muskoka settlement when the forests were flooded with loggers and land-hungry settlers.

Elgin House, Lake Joseph Past and Present is a history of an important and successful summer resort in the Muskoka Region of Ontario from 1885 to the present. It details the efforts of four generations of the Love family to create a world class summer resort from modest beginnings.The resort was unique in that it catered to the many well to do Canadians and Americans with strong religious beliefs including several of North America's founding families. The book revolves around a series of Love family stories and is set in the context of developments in Canadian history throughout the twentieth century. The book contains 58 images of the resort through it's history including a number by the Muskoka photography legend Frank Mickelthwaite. It concludes with a description of the present day use of this property in the form of the luxurious Lake Joseph Club, a Thomas McBroom designed championship golf course, villas and lake front dining facility.

Newsletter covering the pioneer days in Port Sydney.