Boles Barn, Aspdin, 1919
This barn was built in Aspdin in 1919 and moved to its current location in 1970. It is now used in July and August as a small snack bar, and the upper floor is an ideal venue for wedding rentals. During the spring to fall season, explore the scale model of logging operations in the upstairs barn.
Hill House, Hillside, 1874
This wood framed house with its steep, peaked gable rook is typical of the Ontario Vernacular architectural style. Reverend Robert Norton Hill, Methodist Minister, Justice of the Peace and farmer blazed a trail from Huntsville to Penn Lake in 1868, now known as Highway 60. This house represents a family which was prosperous enough to be able to afford not only the milled lumber and paint for the house, but the comfortable interior décor.
Hares House, Stephenson Township, 1872
This farmhouse is of hand-hewn pine log construction. The Hares lived here for 32 years and raised 14 children. Large families were customary in those days as children were needed to help on the farm and take care of their parents in later life. Henry Hares and his new bride Elizabeth came to Utterson (about 20 miles south of here) from England in 1868. They eloped before leaving for Canada because her parents didn’t approve of the marriage. Their first winter was a hard, cold one, and not being used to a typical Canadian winter they survived on wild game and vegetables. To obtain flour, Henry followed a two mile path through the woods to the grist mill in Port Sydney. The original cabin burned to the ground and was replaced by this one.
Fun fact: The lower log on the right-hand side of the front door is said to be one of the largest hand-hewn logs in Muskoka!
Darling House, Stisted Township, 1869
Mr. Darling was the second white settler; he married Hannah Dixon and they raised nine children. Settlers met here for the first Stisted Township Council meetings from 1874 until 1879, when they began to meet at Ashworth Hall.
Fun fact: The downstairs walls were originally covered in newspaper, layers added over the years, eventually covered by wallpaper.
Livery, reconstruction
The Livery is a working “reconstruction”, built in 1987 from a log stable originally from the Shay property in Huntsville. It was constructed from hand-hewn logs. It has standing stalls for large animals and box stalls for sheep and domestic fowl.
Blacksmith Shop, Novar, 1899
The smith shod horses, produced iron tools, carriage wheels and did woodworking. This fully operational blacksmith shop was that of Frank Gabriel Sr. and it is the shop he operated in Novar in 1926. Gabriel Sr. worked as an apprentice to the village blacksmith in England and came to Canada in the early 1900s, where he was hired as a fireman on the Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway, and eventually made his way to Novar with his family.
Fun fact: The word smith comes from the word smite or “to hit”!