Woodbridge Advertiser/AuctionLists.ca - 2021-12-22

CURRENT JANUARY 2022 THE WOODBRIDGE ADVERTISER PAGE SEVENTEEN
Muskoka‘s Ghost Towns
Most ghost town hunters seem to know the popular Muskoka ghost towns
like: Germania, Uffington, Falkenburg, Cooper's Falls and to a lesser
extent: Monsell and Lewisham. But there are others. Thanks to the book by
Hind and DaSilva, "Ghost Towns of Muskoka", these hamlets have been
brought back to memory. Here are some short bios on each..
ROSSEAU FALLS — Founded on the north shore of Lake Rosseau by Peter
Mutchenbacker, a pioneer from Germany, in 1877. At the mouth of the
Rousseau River he built a saw and shingle mill by harnessing the power of
the falls. Later he had a steam-operated outfit, which meant for a longer
cutting season. There were cabins built for the families and the mill workers.
Peter's home was first made of logs, but his second home was the centrepiece
of the hamlet where he opened a post office and store in 1880.
There were no roads and communication was done by a mail ship. The trees
were depleted by 1928 and the community went into decline. There are remnants
in the bay to this day of the mill. Take Hwy 141 to Rosseau Rd 3 and
drive south to the falls.
DEE BANK — Another short-lived pioneer crossroads milltown. John
Shannon bought land here in 1868 where the Dee River rushes into Three
Mile Lake. Here he built a grist mill. Due to its strategic location the community
grew to inlcude 2 hotels alongside the bush farms. It was the largest
village in Watt Township. The store and post office was run by John Barber;
there was a tannery, blacksmith, church, school and pop. of 75. It was hit
by two major blows- because it was inland the new steamships to
Windermere past it by and the railway bypassed it. Only the school
remains. Take Hwy 141 to Deebank Rd. and head south to the Dee River.
According to friend and fellow Ontario history buff, Gary Long, "Dee Bank
was just a small mill village with a few residences, a school, a store, and of
course the mills. I found a bit of the gristmill foundation on the south side
of the river at the bottom of the falls, and on the north side, the barely discernible
route of the road that formerly crossed a bridge at the top of the
falls and angled up the hillside. The authors of the book might have found
additional foundations, etc. I'm sure if you looked around hard enough in
the woods near the falls, you'd find other remains, though not necessarily
dating back as far as the original village.
Locations of towns weren't always logical in terms of terrain. Look at
Bracebridge and Huntsville, the original sections piled on hills when there
was plenty of flat land nearby. Usually the early growth took place closest to
the feature that resulted in the settlement being there. In the case of
Bracebridge and Dee Bank, that was the falls with its mills, and it's usually
rocky and hilly close to falls."
MILLAR HILL — Considered the high north country when nobody lived
this far north in Muskoka. Here David Millar decided to give bush farming
a whirl in the 1870s. As the trees were removed others joined the settlement
on the hardest terrain imaginable. Joseph Langmeade founded a school,
church and the post office (1912-1930). Fred Quinn built a sawmill on the
Boyne R. which brought a boost to the growing community, but later the
sawmill moved to Dwight and Millar Hill went into dire straits. Take Hwy.
60 to Millar Hill Rd. and drive to the end. Foundations can be found on the
observatory road before u get up to the summit where the radio towers are.
SELDOM SEEN — Founded in the 1870s in an isolated corner of Macaulay
Township, south of Fawn Lake, it didn't live long. It got its name as a joke,
meaning they were so far from civilization and the outside world. William
Dennis was the councillor and Alfred Lee was a farmer, teacher and assessor.
There was a store, small sawmill and school. In 1886 the township
moved the school miles away and the villagers were very upset. They rebuilt
another in its place to the dismay of the township. The school closed in
1912 as the villagers could no longer handle the conditions of their land.
BEATTY'S SIDING — 3 km. west of Swords on the famed Booth railway
was its location. Here, 20 plus trains per day passed by. The railway
housed rail workers here and a village formed with both farmers and loggers
in 1894. The Ludgate Lumber Co. was the main outfit. The children
went to school in Swords. Ludgate Co. moved out in 1910 and train traffic
dwindled, as did the town.
JERUSALEM — A true ghost town as it is hard to find even in the history
books. The short-lived hamlet was founded in 1866 by Thomas Peacock
deep in a forested valley on a north branch of the Muskoka River. As the
land was painstakingly cleared for crops, 8 buildings were erected; but it is
not known if they were part of a village or of a homestead or two. It was situated
between High Falls Rd., Hwy. 11 and Falkenburg Rd.
BEAR LAKE — Norwegians came to Canada by the 1000's. Some came to
Muskoka and settled at Bear Lake in the 1880's. They were offered free land
if they cleared it and worked at the lumber mills. They called their settlement
Jarlsberg, and it had a mill, school, store, post office, church and
blacksmith. By 1893 the name was changed to Bear Lake. Only their St.
Olaf's Church, pillars and 2 old buildings remain to this day. Take Hwy.
518 to Bear Lake, east of the Nipissing Colonization Rd.
HOODSTOWN —On the north shore of Lake Vernon a village formed that
was meant to be a major hub for Muskoka. Railways were being built
throughout the rugged terrain. Charles and Janet Hood had a vision and
bought a lot of land as a speculation that 2 major railway lines would one
day meet up at this spot where a small river joined Lake Vernon and Fox
Lake. They came from Toronto as they had heard of the boom in Muskoka.
Things looked promising in 1877, and by 1889 the Hoods had made a townplan
with 276 lots on 9 streets. There were 3 stores, 3 churches, a post
office, a sawmill, a hotel, a blacksmith and homes. But their speculation
never paid off as the railways bypassed the area. The post office shut down
in 1892 and the townsfolk moved to Hunstville.
EMBERSON — Was the most obscure ghost town of Muskoka during its
brief life. Even written accounts seem to be rumoured memories. But it did
exist. In 1876 on one of Brunel Township's windy, swampy, rocky, treeinfested
roads a community was formed. Henry Jarvis opened the post
office the same year. The children had to travel a distance to school in the
next township over. By 1900 there were 60 brave souls within its confines.
The bush farms and logging camps lasted until 1910 and its post office
until 1924. Stone foundations exist, though the area has long since been
swallowed up by the forest According to Hinds and Brown it lies 2 km.
north of Muskoka Rd. 11 and 2 km. east of Muskoka Rd. 7. But these directions
make no sense logically. I found an old map that shows Emberson
and it was located north of Britannia Rd (Cty Rd 10) and west of South
Portage Rd. (Cty Rd 9), which is now a huge forest. Got its post office in
1874. Emberson wasn't really even a village, just a rural post office serving
the farm families in that section. Never had a school or any businesses
other than farms. The section of road that went through Emberson hasn't
been open for many years, though you can still walk it or mountain bike it.
SOUTH PORTAGE — Is a semi-ghost town mentioned in one of Ron
Brown's books. Located on the north shore of Lake of Bays it once was
home to the shortest commercial railway line in the world, called the
Portage Railway. Its train, called "The Portage Flyer", ran less than 2 kms,
and ferried passengers between North Portage on Peninsula Lake and
South Portage in the early 1900's. It lasted until 1958.
The Portage Flyer
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