Pin Quest Ontario

Muskoka likely takes its name from Chippewa chiefs called Mesqua Ukie and Musquakie in Ojibwa. ‘Mesqua’ meaning red and ‘ahkees’ meaning ground. The elder of the chiefs was wounded at the defence of York during the War of 1812, and his son who took the same name took part in the surrender of a large area of land in present-day Grey, Wellington, Dufferin and Simcoe counties.

A special lapel pin commemmorating the 50th anniversary of the founding of Muskoka District.

An smaller, alternative design for Muskoka.

Bracebridge was established as a transportation hub on the Muskoka river.

Today you can transport yourself from Bracebridge to the North Pole at Santa's Village: a Christmas themed amusement park in the community.

Bracebridge was originally called “North Falls” after Wilson’s Falls which are just outside the downtown area. It was later renamed by William Dawson LeSueur, secretary of the Post Office Department who named it after Washington Irving’s 1822 novel “Bracebridge Hall, or the Humorists”. The novel was a series of character sketches about the occupants of a fictional English manor.

Georgian Bay Township's geography is in part formed by the "30,000 islands" dotted with thousands of cottages.

The islands are accessible from Honey Harbour - founded by Harvey Hewitt, co-developer of Woolite laundry detergent.

Gravenhurst was the home of Dr. WIlliam Hawthorne who in 1901 published a book called “Sylvan Ontario, A Guide to Our Native Trees and Shrubs”. The book included drawings and descriptions of as many different plants as Hawthorne could find in the Muskoka area and was the first book on this subject published in Ontario. Hawthorne was the principal of the first Gravenhurst high school and transplanted specimens from nearly all of the trees and shrubs in the book to the school grounds.

An alternative lapel pin for the Town of Gravenhurst.

Huntsville was named after Captain George Hunt, a British military officer who retired to the area in 1869 where he was appointed the first local Postmaster, and his stepmother became a teacher at the first school house. 

An alternative pin for the Town of Huntsville.

For 54 years between 1904 and 1958, Lake of Bays was home to the smallest commercial railway in the world. The Portage Railway ran a grand total of 2 kilometers between North Portage on Peninsula Lake, to South Portage on Lake of Bays.

Muskoka Lakes is home to “The Wall”: an 111 by 45 foot mosaic with over 9,028 local pictures that when viewed from a distance recreate a photo of a ship passing through the locks at Port Carling.