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Unique Muskoka tells the story behind these subjects and more. With outstanding articles and photography, Unique Muskoka informs readers on issues of the day, what’s happening and things to do.
historic muskoka
The Bridges of Muskoka - Connecting More Than Land
August 25, 2020
Article by J. Patrick Boyer Muskoka’s modern history began in 1858 with a basic beam bridge. Spanning the Severn River, it carried the Muskoka Colonization Road over the district’s southern frontier into land where Indigenous people had been present since long before the pyramids ever arose in Egypt. Pushing north through untouched...
Windermere House A Showcase for Muskoka's Evolving Hospitality for 150 years
July 28, 2020
By J. Patrick Boyer In 1863 Thomas Aitken, a 31-year old Scottish immigrant farmer, trekked from Peterborough into Canadian Shield wilderness looking for farmland “flatter than a pancake” near Lake Rosseau where his brother-in-law David Fife had already begun homesteading. Today, Aiken’s Windermere House epitomizes Muskoka’s vacation economy. It is a summer...
Printing Museum Revives the Proud History of a Traditional Craft
July 18, 2020
Article by Meghan Smith / Photographs Tomasz Szumski The Morgan Davis Printing Museum is the culmination of a lifelong love of printing that spans seven decades. For museum founder Morgan Davis, it’s also the celebration of a family tradition that spans three generations. Davis was born in Toronto, growing up in the...
Micklethwaite Photographs Still Shaping Muskoka's Identity
May 19, 2020
Article by J. Patrick Boyer Frank Micklethwaite was not the only person taking photographs in Muskoka a century ago but the alignment of three factors catapulted his work into a class of its own. For openers, Micklethwaite’s talent covered the full range of photographic skills. He so mastered artistic composition –...
Wanda III and Muskoka Discovery Centre
November 16, 2019
By J. Patrick Boyer Classy steam-era yacht Wanda III embodies a unique Muskoka saga. Neither the Toronto shipbuilders fashioning Muskoka’s fastest vessel back in 1915, nor the renowned Eaton family taking delivery of her, could possibly have imagined the charmer’s impact on Muskokans, today. More than a century on, this elegant steamer...
Portage Flyer Christmas Train - The Joy of an Annual Tradition
November 14, 2019
Article by Dawn Huddlestone / Photography by Tomasz Szumski Take the tenacity of The Little Engine That Could, toss in some of the magic of the Polar Express, and place it along a picturesque bend in the Muskoka River and you’ve got the makings of a “supermagicated” Christmas celebration like no...