MUSKOKA
HERITAGE FOUNDATION
2009 BUILT AND CULTURAL HERITAGE STEWARDSHIP AWARDS
Government/Commercial Category
Muskoka
Heritage Place
Huntsville
It has been 51 years since the first Muskoka
Museum opened on Caroline Street, Huntsville).
In 1958 the Huntsville Navigation Company ceased operation of
its steamboats and the Portage Flyer Steam train.
In 1961 the Rotary Club of Huntsville purchased the Watson
farm (current location, in central Huntsville, includes pristine
land, rocks, a meadow with an onsite wetland and beaver pond) and
thus began what is now Muskoka Heritage Place.
In the period from 1961-1996 the pioneer village
grew to include 20 relocated, authentic Muskoka pioneer buildings: a
one-room school, a general store, an inn, a church, an elegant house
(Hill House), several settler's cabins, a livery, blacksmith shop,
sawmill, barn, trapper's tent- all built between 1880 and 1910,
authentically restored and well maintained.
The buildings are staffed and the many demonstrations,
classes and storytellers contribute greatly to the cultural history
of Muskoka.
In this
period, the Town of Huntsville took over as operator, an advisory
committee was formed and it became an accredited member of Canadian
Museums Association, the Ontario Museums Association and the archive
Association of Ontario.
It also boasted the first
'friends' group in Ontario, begun in 1971.
The stunning museum is a
'must visit' before exploring the site as it
provides a fascinating insight into Muskoka's cultural history.
In 1996 the Huntsville and Lake of Bays Railway
Society became a partner, a replica train station and shed were
built on the site and a steam museum was opened.
In 2000 the revived Portage Flyer began operations and a
purser's cabin was moved to the site from Norway Point, Lake of
Bays.
In 2002 a First
Nations component was added.
In 2007 a Metis component was included and, as of 2010 the
Portage Flyer (tracks under repair) will be active again.
Muskoka Heritage Place is a good model of
how
municipal, provincial, federal and local community volunteer interests converge to
create and maintain an excellent example of Muskoka's
built and cultural history.
BUILT/CULTURAL CATEGORY
Berger Cottage
Lake Muskoka
In 1895 Wilson Miller of Pittsburgh built
Benham Cottage, the first of three cottages built for his daughters.
Benham Cottage became known as the
Berger Cottage after Miller's granddaughter married George R.B.
Berger of Pittsburgh and it remains in the family seven generations
later. 
In 1897 this cottage was burned and
rebuilt.
In 1905 a sister cottage was built next
door for another daughter and in 1912 the third and smallest cottage
was built for Martha Miller Book.
All three are located in Babies Bay on Tondern Island Lake Muskoka.
A classic old Muskoka cottage in the Ontario Cottage Style typical
of the late 19th
century, it is constructed of
wood painted white with green trim.
It has an interior of board and batten
basswood, still in original condition.
Features rarely found today are the
many sleeping porches that are still in use attached in a tandem
manner to bedrooms.
Like most of the old Beaumaris cottages
this one has had additions over the years as needs dictated.
The cottage has been well maintained.
Much of it remains
'as was' including
the original molded brick fireplace, much of the original living
room furniture, basswood paneling and the diamond-paned cabinetry in
the dining room.
One of the charming features of this
cottage is the perfectly proportioned children's
playhouse in the garden furnished with original furniture right down
to the tiny china tea sets.
A wonderful garden planned and mostly maintained by the family
highlights this treasure of built heritage.
Pickerel Point
Lake Rosseau
The widow of Sir John Beverly Robinson, a
prominent lawyer and politician in Ontario, commissioned Toronto
architect Eden Smith to design and build this magnificent historic
cottage in 1910 on Lake Rosseau.
Its original name was
The Hewick
after the ancestral home of the Robinsons in Yorkshire England.
Its resemblance to an English country
home is exact.
 Unlike
a typical brick English country house, or indeed the architect's
preferred medium of brick, it reflects Muskoka's
timber and lumber heritage and is of wood painted green, beautifully
proportioned with parallel sets of porches.
Its distinctive rooflines are the
hallmark of distinguished architect Eden Smith who brought the
English Arts and Crafts movement to Canada and was renowned for his
sensitivity to the natural settings on which he was constructing
buildings and
to
the materials to be used. It is thought to be his only cottage
in Muskoka. One has only to tour Rosedale, Forest Hill, Poplar
Plains Road or Wychwood Park in Toronto to see many examples of his
meticulous residential design.
Stan and Eva Dunford purchased the property in
2003 and for the next four years conducted a painstaking restoration
of this beautiful cottage, so subtly placed, well below the tree
line, that it is hard to see from the water.
They carefully researched and
documented the original construction to ensure that the restoration
would retain the design integrity of an English cottage.
They have restored its gardens,
serviced the original
'inclinator'
(elevator) which carried guests up the steep hill to the cottage
from the docks; they restored the water tower, reconstructing the
supporting structure
'as
was'
but retaining the original tank.
As much as possible original doors and
windows have been retained.
The original dining porch remains
intact.
Features that had deteriorated have
been replicated exactly.
The bathrooms are restored and the only
modern room is the kitchen although the washroom and backstairs from
what was the servants quarters remains.
This property is an outstanding example of what a caring conservator
can do to restore a magnificent example of Muskoka's
built architectural heritage.
| 
