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85-481: The name "Muskoka Wharf" has referred to two different sections of Gravenhurst Bay over time. Unlike Huntsville or Bracebridge, the train station in Gravenhurst was 1.2 km inland from the waterfront. To provide seasonal direct access to the lake and its logging industry and passenger steamships, the first Muskoka Wharf was constructed as a rail spur that split off the main line south of Gravenhurst and extended into

170-497: A 16 by 20-foot (6.1 m) house. Settlers under the Homestead Act, however, found the going hard. Clearing 15 acres (61,000 m ) of dense forest is a huge task, but once the land was clear, they were greeted with Muskoka's ubiquitous rocks, which themselves had to be cleared. The soil in the region turned out to be poorly suited to farming, consisting largely of dense clay. As news of the difficult conditions spread back to

255-541: A convent. The couple had no children, and Champlain adopted three Montagnais girls named Faith, Hope, and Charity in the winter of 1627–28. On 29 March 1613, arriving back in New France, he first ensured that his new royal commission be proclaimed . Champlain set out on May 27 to continue his exploration of the Huron country and in hopes of finding the "northern sea" he had heard about (probably Hudson Bay ). He travelled

340-587: A farmers market, nearby golf, and more. The new Muskoka Wharf offers a variety of steamship cruises on the RMS Segwun and the Wenonah II . One of the most popular occurrences at the new Muskoka Wharf is the annual Farmers' Market, established in 1992. Over 80,000 cottagers, tourists, and local residents come to the wharf each year to buy and sell an assortment of arts and crafts, jewelry, produce, meats and cheese, apparel, and much more. People can explore

425-527: A group of Haudenosaunee. In a battle that began the next day, two hundred and fifty Haudenosaunee advanced on Champlain's position, and one of his guides pointed out the three chiefs. In his account of the battle, Champlain recounts firing his arquebus and killing two of them with a single shot, after which one of his men killed the third. The Haudenosaunee turned and fled. While this cowed the Iroquois for some years, they would later return to successfully fight

510-655: A large Spanish fleet to the West Indies , again offered him a place on the ship. His uncle, who gave command of the ship to Jeronimo de Valaebrera, instructed the young Champlain to watch over the ship. This journey lasted two years and allowed Champlain to see or hear about Spanish holdings from the Caribbean to Mexico City . Along the way, he took detailed notes, wrote an illustrated report on what he learned on this trip, and gave this secret report to King Henry, who rewarded Champlain with an annual pension. This report

595-413: A living from the rocky soil soon found demand for overnight accommodation, resulting in the first boarding houses and hotels. The first wilderness hotel was built at the head of Lake Rosseau in 1870, called Rosseau House. It was owned by New Yorker W.H. Pratt. The idea caught on and tourists came establishing the tourist industry as the up-and-coming money earner in the 1880s. The steamship era gave rise to

680-467: A permanent settlement. Minor skirmishes with the resident Nausets dissuaded him from the idea of establishing one near present-day Chatham, Massachusetts . He named the area Mallebar ("bad bar"). In the spring of 1608, Dugua wanted Champlain to start a new French colony and fur trading centre on the shores of the St. Lawrence. Dugua equipped, at his own expense, a fleet of three ships with workers, that left

765-414: A second expedition to New France in the spring of 1604. This trip, once again an exploratory journey without women and children, lasted several years, and focused on areas south of the St. Lawrence River, in what later became known as Acadia . It was led by Pierre Dugua de Mons , a noble and Protestant merchant who had been given a fur trading monopoly in New France by the king. Dugua asked Champlain to find

850-495: A site for winter settlement. After exploring possible sites in the Bay of Fundy , Champlain selected Saint Croix Island in the St. Croix River as the site of the expedition's first winter settlement. After enduring a harsh winter on the island the settlement was relocated across the bay where they established Port Royal . Until 1607, Champlain used that site as his base, while he explored

935-600: A snow storm the day before. The other plane's two dead crew members were brought to the surface in 1941, leaving Campbell and Bates' bodies on the lake's 140-foot bottom. They were recovered in 2010, and the plane, Nomad 3521, was recovered in October 2014. Between 1942 and 1945, at the Muskoka Airport, the Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNAF) trained Norwegian pilots during World War II at what

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1020-455: A young man deliver Du Val, along with 3 co-conspirators, two bottles of wine and invite the four worthies to an event on board a boat. Soon after the four conspirators arrived on the boat, Champlain had them arrested. Du Val was strangled and hung in Quebec and his head was displayed in the "most conspicuous place" of Champlain's fort. The other three were sent back to France to be tried. During

1105-497: Is a lake advocacy group that focuses on maintaining the Muskoka area for future generations of cottagers, as Lake Muskoka is a major hub for many cottagers in the area. The Muskoka Lakes association was formed in 1894, therefore has been functioning for over 120 years. The Muskoka Lakes Association also focuses on Lake Muskoka's sister lakes – Lake Joseph , as well as Lake Rosseau . The MLA currently represents thousands of people in

1190-504: Is also a founding partner of Safe and Quiet Lakes, which is an association of volunteers. Lake Muskoka was referenced by cartoon character Chris McLean in the fictional Fresh TV hit show, "Total Drama Island", in which teenage contestants complete challenges in order to win US$ 100,000. The lake that is mentioned surrounds an island named Camp Wawanakwa, yet the island is in fact, not real. The island made appearances in seasons 1, 4 and 5 and

1275-642: Is currently lined with private boathouses. The former right-of-way of the spur line that led to the wharf can be seen in places, especially off James Street West just east of Fernwood Dr. In 2005, a $ 170 million, 89-acre development took place farther east on Gravenhurst Bay, on the site of former sawmills and the town dock. The new development adopted the Muskoka Wharf name, transforming the former industrial land into an improved, “inclusive cottage destination” that now offers boat rentals, hotel rooms, gourmet restaurants, museums, parks and playgrounds, shopping,

1360-572: Is located between Port Carling and Gravenhurst, Ontario , Canada . The lake is surrounded by many cottages . The lake is primarily within the boundary of the Township of Muskoka Lakes , the southeast corner is within the boundary of the Town of Gravenhurst , and another small portion around the mouth of the Muskoka River is within the boundary of the Town of Bracebridge . The town of Bala

1445-519: Is located on the southwestern shores of the lake, where the Moon River starts. Lake Muskoka is connected to Lake Rosseau through the Indian River and lock system at Port Carling . The lake is mainly fed by the Muskoka River , Lake Joseph and Lake Rosseau . The first mention of Muskoka in any records was in 1615, when territory was occupied by indigenous peoples, mainly consisting of

1530-558: Is the location of the battle, 10 miles (16 km) south of Canastota, New York . Champlain attacked the stockaded Oneida village. He was accompanied by 10 Frenchmen and 300 Wendat. Pressured by the Huron Wendat to attack prematurely, the assault failed. Champlain was wounded twice in the leg by arrows, one in his knee. The conflict ended on October 16 when the French Wendat were forced to flee. Although he did not want to,

1615-553: The Algonquin and Huron tribes. Early European explorers to the region like Samuel de Champlain came to the area, followed by missionaries . The name "Muskoka" comes from the name of an Ojibwe or Chippewa tribe chief named Musquakie , which means "not easily turned back in the day of battle". Also known as Chief Yellowhead, it was Mesqua who signed the treaties made between the indigenous peoples and Province of Canada , which sold about 250,000 acres (1,010 km ) of land in

1700-626: The Ottawa River , Lake Nipissing , and Georgian Bay , and with Algonquin and Wendat . He agreed to provide assistance in the Beaver Wars against the Iroquois . He learned and mastered their languages. Late in the year of 1615, Champlain returned to the Wendat and stayed with them over the winter, which permitted him to make the first ethnographic observations of this important nation,

1785-516: The Ottawa River , later giving the first description of this area. Along the way, he apparently dropped or left behind a cache of silver cups, copper kettles, and a brass astrolabe dated 1603 (Champlain's Astrolabe) , which was later found by a farm boy named Edward Lee near Cobden, Ontario . It was in June that he met with Tessouat , the Algonquin chief of Allumettes Island , and offered to build

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1870-691: The Rivière des Iroquois (now known as the Richelieu River ), and became the first European to map Lake Champlain . Having had no encounters with the Haudenosaunee at this point many of the men headed back, leaving Champlain with only 2 Frenchmen and 60 natives. On 29 July, somewhere in the area near Ticonderoga and Crown Point, New York (historians are not sure which of these two places, but Fort Ticonderoga historians claim that it occurred near its site), Champlain and his party encountered

1955-414: The "Big River" in small boats bringing the men and the materials. Upon arriving in Quebec, Champlain later wrote: "I arrived there on the third of July, when I searched for a place suitable for our settlement; but I could find none more convenient or better suited than the point of Quebec, so called by the savages, which was covered with nut-trees." Champlain ordered his men to gather lumber by cutting down

2040-460: The "Compagnie des Marchands de Rouen et de Saint-Malo" and "Compagnie de Champlain", which bound the Rouen and Saint-Malo merchants for eleven years. He returned to New France in the spring of 1615 with four Recollects in order to further religious life in the new colony. The Roman Catholic Church was eventually given en seigneurie large and valuable tracts of land, estimated at nearly 30% of all

2125-695: The 2023 reboot. Lake Muskoka is also the setting of the 2024 Netflix film My Old Ass. Samuel de Champlain Samuel de Champlain ( French: [samɥɛl də ʃɑ̃plɛ̃] ; 13 August 1574 – 25 December 1635) was a French explorer, navigator, cartographer, draftsman, soldier, geographer, ethnologist, diplomat, and chronicler. He made between 21 and 29 trips across the Atlantic Ocean, and founded Quebec City , and New France , on 3 July 1608. An important figure in Canadian history , Champlain created

2210-648: The Atlantic coast. Dugua was forced to leave the settlement for France in September 1605, because he learned that his monopoly was at risk. His monopoly was rescinded by the king in July 1607 under pressure from other merchants and proponents of free trade, leading to the abandonment of the settlement. In 1605 and 1606, Champlain explored the North American coast as far south as Cape Cod , searching for sites for

2295-565: The Caen brothers. After some tense negotiations, it was decided to merge the two companies under the direction of the Caens. Champlain continued to work on relations with the natives and managed to impose on them a chief of his choice. He also negotiated a peace treaty with the Iroquois. Champlain continued to work on the fortifications of what became Quebec City, laying the first stone on 6 May 1624. On 15 August he once again returned to France where he

2380-547: The Colonization Road to Gravenhurst where they vacationed. They liked what they saw and repeated the journey every year bringing friends and relatives. The early tourist pioneers increased demand for transport services in the region, drawn by excellent fishing, natural beauty, and an air completely free of ragweed providing relief for hay fever sufferers . Early tourists built camps but were joined by others desiring better accommodation. Farmers who were barely scratching

2465-630: The French and Algonquin for the rest of the century . The Battle of Sorel occurred on 19 June 1610, with Samuel de Champlain supported by the Kingdom of France and his allies, the Wendat people , Algonquin people and Innu people against the Mohawk people in New France at present-day Sorel-Tracy , Quebec . Champlain's forces armed with the arquebus engaged and slaughtered or captured nearly all of

2550-462: The French port of Honfleur . The main ship, called Don-de-Dieu (French for Gift of God ), was commanded by Champlain. Another ship, Lévrier ( Hunt Dog ), was commanded by his friend Du Pont. The small group of male settlers arrived at Tadoussac on the lower St. Lawrence in June. Because of the dangerous strength of the Saguenay River ending there, they left the ships and continued up

2635-551: The Iroquois. The party passed Lake Ontario at its eastern tip where they hid their canoes and continued their journey by land. They followed the Oneida River until they arrived at the main Onondaga fort on October 10. The exact location of this place is still a matter of debate. Although the traditional location, Nichols Pond, is regularly disproved by professional and amateur archaeologists, many still claim that Nichols Pond

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2720-532: The MLA campaigned for the federal government to require all pleasure crafts to have working lights. The many issues that surround safe and respectful boating continue to be a primary concern of the MLA. The MLA aims to reduce boating issues through their partnership with BOATsmart!, by encouraging boaters to receive proper and practical boating instructions. The MLA does so by providing discounts to MLA members towards BOATsmart! boating courses. The Muskoka Lakes Association

2805-494: The Mohawks. The battle ended major hostilities with the Mohawks for 20 years. One route Champlain may have chosen to improve his access to the court of the regent was his decision to enter into marriage with the twelve-year-old Hélène Boullé. She was the daughter of Nicolas Boullé, a man charged with carrying out royal decisions at court. The marriage contract was signed on 27 December 1610 in presence of Dugua, who had dealt with

2890-430: The Muskoka area, both local and seasonal. One of the primary focuses of the MLA is to invest in the quality of the lake itself. They started with the contemporary Water Quality Initiative in 2000, however "early MLA water testing began in 1972"; over 100 volunteers, in 2013, collected water samples from designated sites in order to facilitate this initiative. These samples are used to analyze various bacteria counts in

2975-519: The Sagamo, which made regular stops up the lakes, including Bracebridge, Beaumaris, and Port Carling. Tourists there could transfer to smaller ships such as the Islander, which could enter smaller ports. Vacationers often remained in the region for weeks or even months in the summer. As families became seasonally established, they began building cottages near the hotels. At first simple affairs replicating

3060-522: The Savages: or travels of Samuel Champlain of Brouages, made in New France in the year 1603"). Included in his account were meetings with Begourat , chief of the Montagnais at Tadoussac, in which positive relationships were established between the French and the many Montagnais gathered there, with some Algonquin friends. Promising to King Henry to report on further discoveries, Champlain joined

3145-502: The Severn was settled, the government planned to open the Muskoka region further north to settlement. Logging licenses were issued in 1866, which opened Monck Township to logging. The lumber industry expanded rapidly denuding huge tracts of the area, but also prompted the development of road and water transportation. The railroad pushed north to support the industry, reaching Gravenhurst in 1875 and Bracebridge in 1885. Road transportation took

3230-1035: The Water Quality Initiative, the Muskoka Lakes Association extends environmental advocacy by holding seminars in partnership with the Muskoka Conservancy as well as the Ontario Trillium Foundation. The seminars act as " a vehicle to inform shoreline owners on manageable ways to protect the quality of our lakes and rivers and encourage the preservation of natural water’s edge habitats. Lisa Noonan, Office Manager, Muskoka Lakes Association." The MLA also holds an annual Seedling Day in mid-late spring in which waterfront residents can preorder and purchase native plants to help prevent erosion of their shoreline. The Muskoka Lakes Association has always largely focused on water-based issues. Almost 100 years ago,

3315-410: The Wendat country and returned to Quebec before heading back to France on 2 July. Champlain returned to New France in 1620 and was to spend the rest of his life focusing on administration of the territory rather than exploration. Champlain spent the winter building Fort Saint-Louis on top of Cape Diamond. By mid-May, he learned that the fur trading monopoly had been handed over to another company led by

3400-419: The Wendat insisted that Champlain spend the winter with them. During his stay, he set off with them in their great deer hunt, during which he became lost and was forced to wander for three days living off game and sleeping under trees until he met up with a band of First Nations people by chance. He spent the rest of the winter learning "their country, their manners, customs, modes of life". On 22 May 1616, he left

3485-593: The area to the province. He was so revered by the Ontario government it they built a home for him in Orillia , where he lived until his death at age 95. Geography drove history in the Muskoka region. Studded with lakes and abundant with rocks, the land offered an abundance of fishing, hunting, and trapping but was poorly suited to farming. Largely the land of the Ojibwa people, European inhabitants ignored it while settling

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3570-493: The area's great hotels: Rosseau, Royal Muskoka , Windemere, and Beaumaris. The area grew rapidly when the railroad reached Gravenhurst in 1875. Indeed, travel from Toronto, Pittsburgh, and New York became less a matter of endurance than expenditure. Trains regularly made the run from Toronto to Gravenhurst where travelers and their luggage were transferred to the great steamers of the Muskoka Navigation Co. such as

3655-503: The end of 1594). By 1597 he was a "capitaine d'une compagnie" serving in a garrison near Quimper . In year 3, his uncle-in-law, a navigator whose ship Saint-Julien was to transport Spanish troops to Cádiz under the Treaty of Vervins , allowed Champlain to accompany him. After a difficult passage, he spent some time in Cádiz before his uncle, whose ship was then chartered to accompany

3740-559: The events of which form the bulk of his book Voyages et Découvertes faites en la Nouvelle France, depuis l'année 1615 published in 1619. In 1620, Louis XIII of France ordered Champlain to cease exploration, return to Quebec, and devote himself to the administration of the country. In every way but formal title, Samuel de Champlain served as Governor of New France , a title that may have been formally unavailable to him owing to his non-noble status. Champlain established trading companies that sent goods, primarily fur, to France, and oversaw

3825-555: The father, and the couple was married three days later. Champlain was then 43 years old. The terms of the contract called for the marriage to be consummated two years later. Champlain's marriage was initially quite troubled, as Hélène rallied against joining him in August 1613. Their relationship, while it apparently lacked any physical connection, recovered and was apparently good for many years. Hélène lived in Quebec for several years, but returned to Paris and eventually decided to enter

3910-528: The firearms of his time: he acquired this practical knowledge when serving with the army of King Henry IV during the later stages of France's religious wars in Brittany from 1594 or 1595 to 1598, beginning as a quartermaster responsible for the feeding and care of horses. During this time he claimed to go on a "certain secret voyage" for the king, and saw combat (including maybe the Siege of Fort Crozon , at

3995-419: The first accurate coastal map during his explorations and founded various colonial settlements. Born into a family of sailors, Champlain began exploring North America in 1603, under the guidance of his uncle, François Gravé Du Pont . After 1603, Champlain's life and career consolidated into the path he would follow for the rest of his life. From 1604 to 1607, he participated in the exploration and creation of

4080-632: The first permanent European settlement north of Florida, Port Royal , Acadia (1605). In 1608, he established the French settlement that is now Quebec City. Champlain was the first European to describe the Great Lakes , and published maps of his journeys and accounts of what he learned from the natives and the French living among the Natives . He formed long time relationships with local Montagnais and Innu , and, later, with others farther west—tribes of

4165-407: The first white man known to have crossed the middle of Muskoka. David Thompson drew the first maps of the area in 1837; camped at the present-day Bala during the evening of August 13/14, 1837; and later possibly camped near present-day Beaumaris. Canada experienced heavy European immigration in the mid-19th century, especially from Ireland, which experienced famine in the 1840s. As the land south of

4250-558: The form of the Muskoka Colonization Road, which was begun in 1858 and reached Bracebridge in 1861. The road was roughly hewn from the woods and was of corduroy construction and so logs were placed perpendicular to the route of travel to keep carriages from sinking in the mud and swamps, which made for extremely rugged travel. The lumbering industry spawned a number of ancillary developments including, as mentioned, transport but also settlements began springing up to supply

4335-501: The great rapids of Sault Ste. Marie , where Lake Superior enters Lake Huron, some of which was recorded by Champlain. Champlain continued to work to improve relations with the natives, promising to help them in their struggles against the Iroquois. With his native guides, he explored further up the Ottawa River and reached Lake Nipissing . He then followed the French River until he reached Lake Huron . In 1615, Champlain

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4420-425: The growth of New France in the St. Lawrence River valley until his death in 1635. Many places, streets, and structures in northeastern North America today bear his name, most notably Lake Champlain . Champlain was born to John Pork Champlain (also written "Anthoine Chappelain" in some records) and Marguerite Le Roy, in either Hiers-Brouage , or the port city of La Rochelle , in the French province of Aunis . He

4505-452: The king's annual pension, gave the young explorer a great deal of independence, as he did not need to rely on the financial backing of merchants and other investors. From 1601 to 1603 Champlain served as a geographer in the court of King Henry IV. As part of his duties, he traveled to French ports. He learned much about North America from the fishermen that seasonally traveled to coastal areas from Nantucket to Newfoundland to capitalize on

4590-544: The king's assent. Champlain's first trip to North America was as an observer on a fur-trading expedition led by François Gravé Du Pont . Du Pont was a navigator and merchant who had been a ship's captain on Chauvin's expedition, and with whom Champlain established a firm lifelong friendship. He educated Champlain about navigation in North America, including the Saint Lawrence River . In dealing with

4675-508: The lake on a filled-in pier. At its peak at the end of the 19th century and early 20th century, hundreds, even thousands, of immigrants, summer tourists, visitors, and cottage dwellers were seen on the Muskoka Wharf Station docks, ready to board steamships that would take them to their destinations on Lake Muskoka , Lake Joseph , and Lake Rosseau (together, the “Muskoka Lakes”). As the waterfront became more popular and as

4760-450: The lake, they built cottages farther afield and demand for the steamships dropped. World War II caused another decline as wartime shortages kept many Americans at home and many Canadians were engaged in war activities. Postwar prosperity brought another boom based around the automobile and the newly affordable fiberglass boat. Owning a summer cottage became more attainable for many in the middle class, resulting in further development around

4845-547: The lake. The steamship companies retired their boats one by one until the last sailing in the late 1950s. During World War II , a crash into Lake Muskoka occurred involving a Northrop Nomad A-17A, which still contains the remains of the British pilot, Peter Campbell, and Canadian pilot, Ted Bates. The pair collided with another Nomad over southern Lake Muskoka and all crashed into the lake's icy depths on December 13, 1940, while searching for another pilot that had gone missing in

4930-478: The lands granted by the French Crown in New France. In 1615, Champlain reunited with Étienne Brûlé , his capable interpreter, following separate four-year explorations. There, Brûlé reported North American explorations, including that he had been joined by another French interpreter named Grenolle with whom he had travelled along the north shore of la mer douce (the calm sea), now known as Lake Huron , to

5015-581: The last one recorded by the FTL in Canada took place in August 1944 when a Fairchild PT-19 Cornell trainer with pilot and student aboard lost its wing and crashed into the ground south of Gravenhurst; both on board died. The bodies were recovered from the dense undergrowth and a wing section was found, but no wreckage was recovered. Not long after, another Fairchild crashed for the same reason, but both occupants escaped by parachute. The Muskoka Lakes Association (MLA)

5100-512: The late 1760s, the region had its European presence in largely limited to seasonal fur trapping, but no significant trading settlements were established. Colonial government interest increased following the American Revolution ; fearing invasion from its new neighbor to the south, the government began exploring the region in the hopes of finding travel lanes between Lake Ontario and Georgian Bay In 1826. Lieutenant Henry Briscoe became

5185-402: The look and feel of the main cottage. World War I caused a significant dip in the tourist activity for the area and hence the economy. Technological advancements in the motorboat and the automobile resulted in greater overall growth of the area and development spread across the area, including the construction of better roads. As vacationers no longer needed the steamships in order to reach

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5270-614: The means of powering the harvest back to the sawmills in Gravenhurst. Alexander Cockburn, sometimes called the Father of Muskoka, began placing steamers on the lake. Starting with the Wenonah , Ojibwa for first daughter, in 1866 Cockburn pressed the government to open the entire Muskoka lake system to navigation by installing locks in Port Carling and opening a cut between Lake Rosseau and Lake Joseph at Port Sandfield. The government

5355-468: The more promising area south of the Severn River. The Ojibwa leader associated with the area was Mesqua Ukie for whom the land was probably named. The tribe lived south of the region, near present-day Orillia, and used Muskoka as their hunting grounds. Another Ojibwa tribe that lived in the area of Port Carling was called Obajewanung. The tribe moved to Parry Sound around 1866. Largely unsettled until

5440-710: The natives there (and in Acadia after). The Bonne-Renommée (the Good Fame ) arrived at Tadoussac on March 15, 1603. Champlain was anxious to see all of the places that Jacques Cartier had seen and described sixty years earlier, and wanted to go even further than Cartier, if possible. Champlain created a map of the Saint Lawrence on this trip and, after his return to France on 20 September, published an account as Des Sauvages: ou voyage de Samuel Champlain, de Brouages, faite en la France nouvelle l'an 1603 ("Concerning

5525-484: The nut-trees for use in building habitations. Some days after Champlain's arrival in Quebec, Jean du Val, a member of Champlain's party, plotted to kill Champlain to the end of securing the settlement for the Basques or Spaniards and making a fortune for himself. Du Val's plot was ultimately foiled when an associate of Du Val confessed his involvement in the plot to Champlain's pilot, who informed Champlain. Champlain had

5610-622: The region's economy boomed with people coming to and from Muskoka, cottages were set up lakeside and Gravenhurst became a very attractive area for settlers and companies. In the mid-20th century, however, the rail-ship combination of Muskoka Wharf started to lose out to the automobile, which could take cottagers directly to their cottagers on newly-built roads. As more people drove to their new cottages and tourist destinations, trains declined in popularity and rail service to Muskoka Wharf ended in 1952. The name faded from use for fifty years. The original Muskoka Wharf still exists today as "Wharf Road" and

5695-407: The rich fishing grounds there. He also made a study of previous French failures at colonization in the area, including that of Pierre de Chauvin at Tadoussac . When Chauvin forfeited his monopoly on the fur trade in North America in 1602, responsibility for renewing the trade was given to Aymar de Chaste . Champlain approached de Chaste about a position on the first voyage, which he received with

5780-456: The rustic environment of the early camps, but later grander including in some cases housing for significant staff. Initially, cottagers relied on rowboats and canoes for daily transport and would sometimes row substantial distances. Eventually, the era of the steam and gasoline launch came and people relied less on muscle power and more on motors. With the boats came the boathouses, often elaborate structures in their own right mimicking in many cases

5865-436: The south, it looked as though development in Muskoka might falter but for a fortuitous development. Since the railroads had not yet arrived, and road travel was notoriously unreliably and uncomfortable, the transportation king was the steamship. Once a land connection was made to the southern part of the lake, in Gravenhurst, the logging companies could harvest trees along the entire lakefront with relative ease so long as they had

5950-432: The stores and restaurants, play on the playground, take a swim in the lake, take a boat ride on one of the steamships, visit the marina, or venture off into the town of Gravenhurst. A weekly waterski show is held at Muskoka Wharf during the summer as well as fireworks displays. 44°55′14″N 79°23′28″W  /  44.9206°N 79.3910°W  / 44.9206; -79.3910 Lake Muskoka Lake Muskoka

6035-561: The summer of 1609, Champlain attempted to form better relations with the local First Nations tribes . He made alliances with the Wendat (called Huron by the French) and with the Algonquin , the Montagnais and the Etchemin, who lived in the area of the St. Lawrence River . These tribes sought Champlain's help in their war against the Iroquois , who lived farther south. Champlain set off with nine French soldiers and 300 natives to explore

6120-612: The tribe a fort if they were to move from the area they occupied, with its poor soil, to the locality of the Lachine Rapids. However, Champlain's ownership of the astrolabe has been questioned by modern scholars. By 26 August, Champlain was back in Saint-Malo . There, he wrote an account of his life from 1604 to 1612 and his journey up the Ottawa river, his Voyages and published another map of New France. In 1614, he formed

6205-600: The water, the amount of dissolved organic carbon, phosphorus, temperature trends, and calcium. In 2013 the MLA collected over 1100 water samples from the Muskoka area. As seen in the 2013 Water Quality Report, the Muskoka Lakes Association focuses on 18 key areas affecting the Lake Muskoka region: Alport Bay, Arundle Lodge, Bala Bay, Beaumaris, Boyd Bay, Browning Island, Dudley Bay, East Bay, Eilean Gowan, Muskoka Bay, Muskoka Sands, North Bay, Stephen's Bay, Taylor Island, Walker's Point, Whiteside Bay, and Willow Beach. Beyond

6290-499: The work probably was authored by Champlain. On Champlain's return to Cádiz in August 1600, his uncle Guillermo Elena (Guillaume Allene), who had fallen ill, asked him to look after his business affairs. This Champlain did, and when his uncle died in June 1601, Champlain inherited his substantial estate. It included an estate near La Rochelle , commercial properties in Spain, and a 150-ton merchant ship. This inheritance, combined with

6375-513: The workers and Bracebridge (formerly North Falls) saw some leather tanning businesses develop. Tanners used the bark from lumber to tan hides thereby using what otherwise would be a waste product. The passages of the Free Grants and Homestead Act of 1868 brought opened the era of widespread settlement to Muskoka. Settlers could receive free land if they agreed to clear the land, have at least 15 acres (61,000 m ) under cultivation, and build

6460-531: Was born about 1580 in Brouage, France." Liebel asserts that some authors, including the Catholic priests Rainguet and Laverdière, preferred years when Brouage was under Catholic control (which include 1567, 1570, and 1575). Champlain claimed to be from Brouage in the title of his 1603 book and to be Saintongeois in the title of his second book (1613). He belonged to a Roman Catholic family in Brouage which

6545-672: Was born on or before 13 August 1574, according to a recent baptism record found by Jean-Marie Germe, French genealogist. Although in 1870, the Canadian Catholic priest Laverdière, in the first chapter of his Œuvres de Champlain , accepted Pierre-Damien Rainguet's estimate of Champlain's birth year as 1567 and tried to justify it, his calculations were based on assumptions now believed, or proven, to be incorrect. Although Léopold Delayant (member, secretary, then president of l'Académie des belles-lettres, sciences et arts de La Rochelle ) wrote as early as 1867 that Rainguet's estimate

6630-447: Was eager to reinforce development in light of the faltering agricultural plan, and built the locks in Port Carling in 1871. Cockburn's steamers now had access to the entire lake system. The first stop for the semi-weekly steamer, Wenonah , was Walker's Point eight miles from Gravenhurst where fisherman could access good bass fishing at Shanty Bay. Through the years he added more ships and when he died in 1905, his Muskoka Navigation Company

6715-521: Was encouraged to continue his work as well as to continue looking for a passage to China, something widely believed to exist at the time. By July 5 he was back at Quebec and continued expanding the city. In 1627 the Caen brothers' company lost its monopoly on the fur trade, and Cardinal Richelieu (who had joined the Royal Council in 1624 and rose rapidly to a position of dominance in French politics that he would hold until his death in 1642) formed

6800-402: Was escorted through the area that is now Peterborough, Ontario by a group of Wendat. He used the ancient portage between Chemong Lake and Little Lake (now Chemong Road) and stayed for a short period of time near what is now Bridgenorth. On 1 September 1615, at Cahiagué (a Wendat community on what is now called Lake Simcoe ), he and the northern tribes started a military expedition against

6885-748: Was most of the time a Catholic city, Brouage was a royal fortress and its governor, from 1627 until his death in 1635, was Cardinal Richelieu . The exact location of his birth is thus also not known with certainty, but at the time of his birth his parents were living in Brouage . Born into a family of mariners (both his father and uncle-in-law were sailors, or navigators), Samuel Champlain learned to navigate, draw, make nautical charts , and write practical reports. His education did not include Ancient Greek or Latin , so he did not read or learn from any ancient literature. As each French fleet had to assure its own defense at sea, Champlain sought to learn to fight with

6970-676: Was published for the first time in 1870, by Laverdière, as Brief Discours des Choses plus remarquables que Samuel Champlain de Brouage a reconneues aux Indes Occidentalles au voiage qu'il en a faict en icettes en l'année 1599 et en l'année 1601, comme ensuite (and in English as Narrative of a Voyage to the West Indies and Mexico 1599–1602 ). The authenticity of this account as a work written by Champlain has frequently been questioned, due to inaccuracies and discrepancies with other sources on some points; however, recent scholarship indicates that

7055-522: Was the largest of its kind in Canada. RMS  Segwun , built in 1887 as Nipissing , is still in service as at 2019. In 1860, two young men, John Campbell and James Bain Jr, made a journey that marked them as perhaps the first tourists in the region. Taking the Northern Railway to Lake Simcoe, they took the steamer Emily May up the lake to Orillia, rowed across Lake Couchiching, and walked up

7140-442: Was then called " Little Norway ." One of the planes from a training mission crashed off of Norway Point, killing the pilot. The aircraft was accidentally recovered by a cable crew snagging the plane in 1960 and the pilot was found inside. For reasons unknown the plane was cut free and fell back to the bottom with the pilot still inside. Authorities are investigating this site as time allows. The RNAF's first fatal accident in Muskoka and

7225-428: Was wrong, the books of Rainguet and Laverdière have had a significant influence. The 1567 date was carved on numerous monuments dedicated to Champlain and is widely regarded as accurate. In the first half of the 20th century, some authors disagreed, choosing 1570 or 1575 instead of 1567. In 1978 Jean Liebel published groundbreaking research about these estimates of Champlain's birth year and concluded, "Samuel Champlain

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