Steamboat Bay, south side of Port Carling

Port Carling locks

Steamboat Bay

Port Carling is an unincorporated community in the Township of Muskoka Lakes in the Canadian province of Ontario. It has been the municipal seat of the Township since 1971. It has several hundred year-round residents and is a service centre for thousands of other seasonal residents in the area. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2048x700, 827 KB) Southern view of Port Carling, Ontario from the Indian River/Lake Muskoka approach Taken July 24, 2004 by me. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2048x700, 827 KB) Southern view of Port Carling, Ontario from the Indian River/Lake Muskoka approach Taken July 24, 2004 by me. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2560x1920, 1098 KB) I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2560x1920, 1098 KB) I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1024x768, 195 KB) Looking south from the lift bridge into Steamboat Bay towards the shops and liquor store. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1024x768, 195 KB) Looking south from the lift bridge into Steamboat Bay towards the shops and liquor store. ... The Township of Muskoka Lakes is an area municipality of the District Municipality of Muskoka, Ontario, Canada. ... Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Latin: Loyal she began, loyal she remains) Official languages None Flower White Trillium Tree Eastern White Pine Bird Common Loon Capital Toronto Largest city Toronto Lieutenant-Governor James K. Bartleman Premier Dalton McGuinty (Liberal) Parliamentary representation  - House seats  - Senate seats 106 24 Area Total...

Attractions and venues

Besides the town itself, which maintains much of its older architecture, there are several tourist and cultural sites: The Parthenon on top of the Acropolis, Athens, Greece Architecture (from Latin, architectura and ultimately from Greek, αρχιτεκτων, a master builder, from αρχι- chief, leader and τεκτων, builder, carpenter) is the art and science of designing buildings and structures. ...

• Muskoka Lakes Museum
• Muskoka Lakes Association Antique Boat Show (every other year)
• Muskoka Lakes Library
• Port Carling Memorial Community Hall

Geography and transportation

Port Carling is located on the Indian River and owes its importance to its key position on the water routes of the area. A set of locks joins Lake Muskoka and Lake Rosseau, so much boat and ship traffic in the township passes through, hence its nickname Hub of the Lakes. Lake Muskoka is located between Port Carling and Gravenhurst, Ontario. ... Lake Rosseau is located in Ontario. ...

The community is directly located on the two-lane Highway 118, and improvements to Highway 69 now link it to the controlled-access freeway Highway 400 and the sometimes divided Highway 11. This has greatly facilitated its increasing role as a tourist destination from the Toronto area. Highway 69 is a major north-south highway in Central and Northern Ontario, linking Sudbury with Highway 400 in Parry Sound. ... A freeway is a type of highway that is designed for safer high-speed operation of motor vehicles through the elimination of at-grade intersections. ... Highway 400 as part of the 400-series network The Kings Highway 400, more commonly known as Highway 400 or the 400, is a key north-south 400-Series Highway linking Toronto to Central and Northern Ontario. ... Typical HWY 11 sign style Ontario provincial highway 11 is one of the longest of Ontarios Kings Highways, with a current length (as of 2004) of 1 636 km (1,016 miles). ... The census divisions that constitute the original Golden Horseshoe appear in red on the map. ...

History and economy

The Ojibway Indians settled in the area in the 1850s. They called their settlement Obajewanung or Obogawanung, while Europeans called it Indian Gardens. Before white settlers moved into the newly surveyed Medora Township starting in the 1860s, the Ojibway moved to Parry Sound but continued to summer in Port Carling. For other uses of Chippewa, see Chippewa (disambiguation). ... Parry Sound District is a census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. ...

In 1869, Benjamin Hardcastle Johnston established a post office here called it Port Carling. John Carling, the Ontario Minister of Public Works, was a booster of the locks between the lakes which were completed in 1871. This led to an economic boom fuelled by tourism and logging, resulting in the building of four resorts, two sawmills and three Protestant churches of the 1870s. The Orange Order was active in the area, and few Catholics settled here. John Carling (January 23, 1828 – November 6, 1911) was a prominent politician and businessman from London, Ontario, Canada. ... The Orange Order in Canada played an important role in the history of Canada, where it was established in 1830. ...

The Port Carling Boat Works Ltd. traces its origins to an enterprise started in 1868 by William J. Johnston. It captured a niche market after his relatives developed the disappearing propeller boat and operated the company under that name for a while.

Port Carling became independent of Medora Township and was incorporated as a village in 1896 (a status it would keep until 1971). As it grew, the locks were widened in 1903 to permit steamship traffic and in 1922 smaller pleasure boat locks were installed. The Port Carling Volunteer Fire Department began in 1912 and got its biggest workout in 1931 when a series of fires ravaged the boat works and much of the downtown. Paddle steamers - Lucerne-Switzerland Left: original paddlewheel from a paddle steamer on the lake of Lucerne. ...

James Bartleman has been Port Carling's most prominent government official outside the community. The part-Ojibway man was a diplomat and lieutenant governor of Ontario. He wrote Out of Muskoka, a personal reminiscence of his upbringing and some of the less savoury aspects of local history. The Honourable James Karl Bartleman (born 24 December 1939, in Orillia, Ontario), is the 27th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. ... A Lieutenant Governor is a government official who is the subordinate or deputy of a Governor or Governor-General. ...

External links

• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 45.113509° -79.57296°
  • WikiSatellite view at WikiMapia
  • Street map from Mapquest
  • Topographic map from Topozone
  • Aerial photograph from Terraserver
• Port Carling Info Sitesemi-official community site
• Muskoka Lakes Township municipal government site
• Port Carling semi-official community site
• Muskoka Lakes Museum article