Author and historian Andrew Hind, known for the popular books Ghost Towns of Ontario’s Cottage Country and for the Founded on Stone: Tales of Early Parry Sound District series, has released his latest work. Bygone Bracebridge, timed to coincide with the town’s 150th anniversary this year, shares dozens of stories that cover the entire span of Bracebridge’s history, from a frontier hamlet scratched from the wilderness to the vibrant, modern town of the 21st century.
Learn about the railway to Baysville that never was and the tragedy aboard the steamer Alporto that left the community in mourning. What caused the local railway station master to be brought before a judge? What befell founding settler John Beal after he left Bracebridge? Discover the historical truth behind the town’s most famous haunting legend.
Bygone Bracebridge is available from area retailers, including Lilibird in Bracebridge, Pure Muskoka (in both their Bala and Bracebridge locations), Birchbark in Bala, Cedar Canoe Books, and Artisans of Muskoka in Huntsville. It is also available from Amazon or direct from the author at maelstrom@sympatico.ca
Here is an excerpt:
Thomas George and the Junction Hotel
For years, weary travellers venturing along the Muskoka Colonization Road stopped at Thomas George’s roadside inn. They likely didn’t know or care that the whole thing was illegal.
England-born Thomas William George was brought to Canada by his parents as a four-year-old in 1834. For much of his young adulthood he worked as a cobbler and liveryman in Orillia, where he wed Susan Anderson in 1855. In 1860, George took his family north to settle a farm at the junction of the Muskoka and Parry Sound Colonization Roads, just north of Bracebridge.
Not content to remain a mere farmer, he erected a steam-powered shingle mill to provide roofing for homesteaders and opened a store selling dry goods and provisions. As if that didn’t keep him busy enough, in 1865 George then established a crude log inn called the Junction Hotel. It didn’t matter to him or his patrons that the whiskey served up was manufactured of questionable ingredients in a backlot still, or that lacking a tavern license his entire establishment was illegal. The village of Falkenburg Junction took root around the inn.
Eventually, authorities took note and began breathing down George’s neck. He sold the hotel to William Brown in 1869 (who, unlike his predecessor, applied for a license) and then left for Parry Sound.
In Parry Sound George took over the Seguin House, which ironically enough was a temperance hotel and therefore didn’t sell liquor. In a further irony given his past, George was appointed bailiff of the district jail. He died in 1912.
More information and additional excerpts can be found in the Facebook group Exploring Ontario’s Past, where Hind regularly provides updates on his writings and research.
Editor’s note: Andrew is also a regular – and valued – contributor to 705BLACKFLY.COM. We are thrilled about the release of his new book and encourage history fans to support his dedication to preserving the past. Congratulations, Andrew!
