Ghost Towns of Muskoka


Book Description

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.




RMS Segwun


Book Description

One hundred and twenty-five years of steamboating in Muskoka come alive with the anniversary celebration of the RMS Segwun. The Royal Mail Ship Segwun is the oldest operating steamship in North America, a Muskoka icon, and one of Ontario’s best-known tourist attractions. Built as a paddlewheeler in 1887, the RMS Segwun saw her initial career suspended in the 1950s when the ship ceased operations. Fortunately, she began a new chapter in 1974 when she was lovingly restored and magnificent sightseeing cruises were offered. Those who board the vessel step back in time to a romantic era in cottage country’s history when steamboats were vital to settlement, tourism, and economic development. The history of this celebrated Canadian ship and her sister vessels that made up the Muskoka Navigation Company fleet is thoughtfully explored, as is the long and significant past of steamboating on the Muskoka lakes. Historical and contemporary photographs complement the story of this "Queen of Muskoka" in recognition of her 125th anniversary.




Making Muskoka


Book Description

Muskoka. Now a magnet for nature tourists and wealthy cottagers, the region underwent a profound transition at the turn of the twentieth century. Making Muskoka traces the evolution of the region from 1870 to 1920. Over this period, settler colonialism upended Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee communities, but the land was unsuited to farming, and within the first generation of resettlement, tourism became an integral feature of life. Andrew Watson considers issues such as rural identity, tensions between large- and household-scale logging operations, and the dramatic effects of consumer culture and the global shift toward fossil fuels on settlers’ ability to control the tourism economy after 1900. Making Muskoka uncovers the lived experience of rural communities shaped by tourism at a time when sustainable opportunities for a sedentary life were few on the Canadian Shield, and reveals the consequences for those living there year-round.




Clinic of Hope


Book Description

This is the story of Rene M. Caisse of Bracebridge, Canada and describes her extraordinary perseverance to obtain official recognition of her herbal cancer remedy she called Essiac, her name spelled backwards. Rene Caisse was thrust into a life-long medical-legal-political controversy that still persists since her death in 1978. Rene wrestled with the Hepburn government of Ontario over the operation of her Bracebridge cancer clinic during 1935 to 1941 and her use of Essiac. She refused to reveal her secret formula and legislation demanding the recipe forced the closing of her clinic. The government was embroiled in the dilemma of ensuring their public favour and appeasing cancer patients. This documented research presents a biography of a remarkable woman and her struggle to help "suffering humanity."




Muskoka Resorts


Book Description

Since the 1880s, people have travelled to Muskoka in search of solace and relaxation, enjoying the comfort and warm hospitality of resorts while revelling in the tranquil wilderness and refreshing lakes. Here the stories of twenty classic resorts are explored, some of which are thriving today while others are long gone but fondly remembered.




Andrew Hind and Maria Da Silva 3-Book Bundle


Book Description

Three titles in Andrew Hind and Maria Da Silva’s acclaimed series on the local history, maritime colour, and even the shadowy side of Ontario’s most picturesque communities. From ghost towns to actual ghosts, the unexpected abounds in this collection of the most surprising corners of Ontario — a must for cottagers and local-history lovers, brought to you by two of the best! Includes: RMS Segwun Ghost Towns of Muskoka Ghosts of Niagara-on-the-Lake




Ghost Towns of Ontario's Cottage Country


Book Description

Explore the remnants of vanished villages across Ontario’s cottage country. Crumbling foundations lost in the forest, weathered buildings leaning wearily with age, cracked tombstones jutting from the ground — all serve as haunting reminders of once thriving villages that have since been abandoned. Each of these locales has a distinct story to tell, stories that until now were confined to fading memories and grainy photographs. From the northern shores of Georgian Bay to the eastern reaches of the Kawarthas, Ontario’s cottage country is littered with vanished villages, including settlement-era farm communities, railway whistle-stops, and logging hamlets. Within these pages, readers will venture into Ontario’s past to learn how these communities lived and died and to meet the people who invested their hopes and dreams in them. Dozens of photographs, many historical and never before published, bring these ghost towns back to life. Join Andrew Hind in exploring over a dozen villages across the districts of Parry Sound and Nipissing, Muskoka, and the Haliburton Highlands.




Beyond the Global City


Book Description

Policies promoting Toronto as a global city and provincial economic engine have been seen as beneficial to the development of all of Ontario, yet much of the province has borne significant environmental, social, economic, and political costs as a result of one city's growth. Contributors to this volume call for a radical re-imagining of public policy at local, provincial, and federal levels, that accounts for Ontario's overlooked regions. Beyond the Global City presents a kaleidoscopic view of the province - the rich fields and small towns of the southwest, the productive agricultural lands of rural Huron County, historic Kingston and the Upper St Lawrence, the social and cultural diversity of the Ottawa valley, the near mythical woodlands and waters of Muskoka and Georgian Bay, and the heavily exploited coasts and waters of the Great Lakes - to provide a deeper understanding of its various communities. In a series of regional studies, contributors describe each area's distinctive qualities and challenges and offer recommendations about what is needed to move them forward in a more equitable and sustainable way. Two initial historical chapters lay the framework for the regional discussions, while cross-cutting and integrated chapters analyze the state of natural and cultural heritage and current development theory provincially, offering guidance for the future.




Elgin House, Lake Joseph


Book Description

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.




Canadiana


Book Description