Just two hours north of Toronto, Muskoka is a region of lakes and jutting granite cliffs. This rocky soil soon found demand for overnight accommodations. Lavish hotels like the Royal Muskoka, the Windermere and Elgin Houses began to attract the very wealthy from North America and Europe, creating seasonal employment for local residents. The first called Rousseau House, a wilderness hotel built at the head of Lake Rosseau in 1870. With the railroad reaching Gravenhurst in 1875, the area grew rapidly. Travel from Toronto, Pittsburgh, and New York became less a matter of endurance than expenditure.
As visitors seized the opportunity to buy their own piece of Muskoka the local people became the builders and guardians of the lake and island properties. They also became the storekeepers for the new cottage industry. With the cottage came boats, and with boats came the boathouses, often elaborate structures in their own right mimicking in many cases the look and feel of the main cottage.
Muskoka is clustered around three big lakes; Muskoka, Joseph and Rosseau, which are large interconnecting bodies of water that are carved into the Canadian Shield and framed by a dense canopy of hemlocks, pines and maples. With a galaxy of private islands and thousands of miles of glacial shoreline, Muskoka is beautiful and secluded, with palatial cottage homes as well as less lavish summer retreats.
Most of my childhood summers were spent at our family cottage on Lake Muskoka. Purchased by my Great Grandparents in the late 1930’s, all family members were always welcome. Weekends spent on the dock, water skiing, swimming, playing tennis and boating kept all ages occupied. My Grandmothers’ birthday in August was marked each year with a theme from Roaring 20’s to Masquerades. We celebrated all weekend with waterski shows, diving competitions, croquet on the lawn and evening charades.
Cottages are cherished not just because of their age and architecture, but because they are rich with stories about their families, visitors, summer gatherings, excursions and vintage boats. Muskoka’s cottages and estates are repositories of family history, steeped in tradition and proud reminders of summers well spent.
Till next time,
