Tourism is one of Muskoka’s defining industries, with 3.2 million visitors annually. Many visitors stay at a resort without realizing that they are carrying on a tradition dating back more than 150 years.
When Muskoka was originally opened to settlement in the 1860s, a flood of land hungry humanity swept into the region, eager to transform forest into farm. But the promise that arable soil lay under the roots of the towering trees was a broken one. Most settlers struggled. Muskoka simply wasn’t suitable for agriculture. Property owners realized they could make far more money hosting tourists than they ever could by tilling the soil and began to build resorts on their lakeside farms. Muskoka as a tourist destination was born.
Perhaps as many as one hundred summer resorts, inns, and boarding houses might have been in operation at any one time. There were well over two hundred in all. Writer Andrew Hind explores the histories of nearly two dozen in his latest book, “Timeless Hospitality: Historic Resorts of Muskoka”.
“Most of Muskoka’s resorts have long since vanished, and some have been almost completely forgotten,” explains Hind. “A handful of these historic resorts still exist, in most cases much altered but nonetheless carrying on a proud legacy of hospitality. These resorts ensure that Muskoka remains at the forefront of any list of Canada’s vacation destinations.”
To Hind, Muskoka’s resorts aren’t just places to stay. They are cultural symbols that continue to define what people imagine when they think of ‘cottage country.’
This book represents Hind’s latest effort to preserve the history of the region. Other recent titles include Ghost Towns of Cottage Country, Bygone Bracebridge, and Vintage Muskoka. He is also a regular contributor to Muskoka Life and Parry Sound Life magazines.
“Muskoka’s resorts aren’t just buildings. They never have been. They’re memory makers and memory keepers,” Hind says. “I hope people will read my book and feel a rush of memories flooding back.”
Timeless Hospitality (Dundurn Press, $29.99) is available from Indigo/Chapters/Coles, Amazon, through your favourite local bookstore, and soon from a range of retailers across Muskoka and Parry Sound.
Here’s a brief excerpt about Huntsville’s Deerhurst Resort, detailing the years immediately following its 1896 opening by Charles Waterhouse.
Deerhurst welcomed its first guests, a couple from Rochester, New York, a few weeks after this story ran even though the main building was not yet completed. Since Deerhurst’s opening rates were $3.50 per person per week, which included three meals a day, this couple accounted for the entire first season’s seven dollars in revenue. It was hardly the start Charles had hoped for. But things quickly turned around, partly thanks to Charles’ new bride, equally well-bred Hylda Hartley, who he wed in 1897. Even though she came from a privileged household in England where she had twenty servants at her beck and call, Hylda adjusted remarkably well to the life of a hotelier. She had few formal responsibilities around the resort other than that of a gracious hostess and attentive overseer to the staff (who would later affectionately refer to her as ‘Grammie’, due to her motherly nature) but her warm presence was felt throughout Deerhurst.
By 1898 Deerhurst was filled with tourists. In fact, the demand was so high that some guests willingly erected tents on the grounds when there were no vacancies. To keep pace with demand, the Waterhouses added four waterside cottages in 1900.
“My grandparents worked non-stop during the summer months,” said Bill Waterhouse in 2010 interview. “They had to be very social to keep the guests entertained. Grandfather, who originally was an aspiring actor, would put on performances. He would also sing while grandma accompanied him on piano; they were both talented performers. Often, the dining room would be cleared of tables and chairs for evening dances. On some occasions, an orchestra from Huntsville would be brought in, but generally the music guests danced too was courtesy of grandfather and grandmother. They were the only entertainment guests had for decades, but guests loved it.”
