Scott’s Boathouse RoadL A K E O F B A Y S

Scott’s Boathouse RoadL A K E O F B A Y S

Lake of Bays Heritage FoundationCompiled and edited by

Penny Thomas and Paul Shoniker 2014.

SCOTT’S BOATHOUSE ROADLAKE OF BAYS

Scott’s Boathouse Road is located on the south shore of Lake of Bays,equidistant between Norway Point and Grove Park, off Old Highway117. This area of the lake has grand vistas and gorgeous wide sandbeaches.

The area wassettled followingsurveysconducted in themid 1800’s. In1868, with the‘Free Grant andHomestead Act’,the Canadiangovernmentopened threemillion acres ofland fordevelopmentfrom the OttawaRiver toGeorgian Bay. In 1878, the road between Baysville and Dorset wasscattered with homesteads erected under these grants. Lured by thebeauty of the lake country, settlers from all parts of Ontario andEurope took up the offer to clear the land, build a home and remainfor ten years or forfeit to the government what proved to be primitiveand rocky land. Those who remained loved the country and chose toendure the hardship to survive.

Many settlers were discouraged by the rugged, unproductive soil andvacated their claims. In the late 1890’s, tourists discovered the area bythe opening of boarding houses such as Grove Park Lodge locatedthree miles east of Norway Point and operated by Mrs. JohnRobertson. At Norway Point there was another boarding house run byMrs. George Robertson.

At the turn of thecentury, cottagesstarted to be builtalong the southshore of Lake ofBays. GrandviewHotel was built in1901 followed bythe GlenmountHotel next door in1903.

The legendary WaWa Hotel at Norway Point was constructed in 1907on George Robertson’s Norway Point farm, and was a popularsummer destination for tourists. The WaWa was a frame structurewith a three storey central building and a two storey wing on eitherside, accommodating a total of 300 guests. Rising from the centre ofthe building was a five storey tower crowned by a powerful searchlight. The interior was panelled in Georgia pine and appointed withluxurious furnishings. The hotel attracted so many visitors that it hadto offer sleeping tents to accommodate the overflow. Bigwin Innstarted construction in 1911 and opened to the public in June 1920,providing an excellent social and entertainment element tovacationers.

Wa Wa Hotel

DEVELOPMENT OF THE ROADLANDER / MORISON COTTAGE

In 1907, Peter Brown of the Township of Ridout purchased 71 acresfrom the Crown for $35.00. In 1922, three gentlemen from Oshawa;Elgin Vesta Lander, Reuben William Millichamp and Colonel WilliamEric Phillips (a WW1 war hero married to Mary McLaughlin, daughterof Colonel Sam McLaughlin of Parkwood, Oshawa) were looking fora northern retreat to accommodate their common interest of cardplaying and a summer vacation place for their families. They acquiredshoreline severed from the original Peter Brown 1907 landacquisition.

When the three card playing gentlemen arrived in 1922, Dorset andBaysville supported a thriving lumber industry. Norway Point andBlack Point were also solidly populated.

The once treacherous road from Bracebridge to Baysville wassomewhat improved. Prior to this, settlers and tourists came to thesouth shore of Lake of Bays, mostly by water landing at Robertson’swharf at Norway Point. The travelers would have likely taken the trainto Huntsville. The trip from Huntsville to North Portage would bemade via the Algonquin. The Portage Flyer railway was constructed in1905, and linked North Portage with South Portage on Lake of Bayswhere travelers continued to their destination aboard the Iroquois orMohawk Belle. While road access to Baysville and eastward gainedpopularity, theimportance ofsteam boats on Lakeof Bays declined.

When Messrs.’Lander, Millichampand Phillips builttheir cottage, thevicinity lookeddifferent than itdoes today. Theshoreline was full

of logs that had separated from the massive log drifts that wereintended for the mills in Baysville. The Boothby and later Bailey farmwas located to the east. Further beyond was Grove Park Lodgeoperated by Mrs. J.J. Robertson. To the east of Grove Park, Mr.Molesworth operated an outstanding gift shop at what was LangfordMarina.

The Morison cottage, built in 1922, is a pre-fabricated, mail orderpackage by Michigan/Toronto-based Aladdin. Between 1906 and 1940,thousands of North American homes were built according to planssold by mail order companies such as: Aladdin, Eaton’s orMontgomery Ward. Often an entire mail order structure (in the formof labeled timbers) was shipped via train and was delivered, completewith hinges, windows and even kitchen cabinets.

Mr. Langmaid, a master carpenter from Baysville (Langmaid’s Islandwas named after him) constructed the cottage. A local stone mason,most likely James McFarlane of Huntsville, built the fireplace. Mr.McFarlane created the fireplaces at Bigwin as well as many of the fineold Huntsville stone homes. A cottage shed built on the property isnow used as a cabin. There was also an icehouse where ice was drawnfrom the lake during the winter months and packed in sawdust andstored until summer. A pump supplied running water to the modernbathroom in the cottage. There was no telephone in the early post waryears. Phone calls were made through a community operator at GrovePark Hotel.

The cottage power was serviced by a generator system known as aDelco plant. This was a recent technology in 1922. Delco-Lightelectric plant in the United States, brought the wonder of electricity torural areas. With this electric power system that teams with battery andappliance manufacturers, ‘flameless lighting’, ‘running water’ as wellas convenient labor saving equipment and appliances, such as thewringer wash machine, were available. It was this modern marvel thatE. V. Landerbrought toLake ofBays. TheLander/Butlercottage tothe east ofthe originalMorisoncottage wasbuilt in 1923for Reuben Millichamp, by Gordon Robinson of Baysville. Thecottage was a replica of the pre-fabricated cottage built the year before.

Also in 1923, a two story boathouse with sleeping and card playingspace upstairs was constructed. The original, knot-free wood in bothcottages remains intact to this day.

Coincidentally, also in the summer of 1923, the WaWa Hotel burnt tothe ground. The fire broke out in a baggage room after a dance whenmost of the 240 guests and 95 employees had retired to their rooms.Flames raced up the elevator shaft erupting into the tower. Within 35minutes, the entire structure was reduced to ashes. Eleven peopleperished.

The Lander family arrived after a full day’s journey from Oshawa.They spent the entire summer at the cottage and relatives visitedoften, giving the Lander children many memories with not only theirsiblings, but their cousins. The mornings were spent doing choreswith everyone involved in the care and cleaning of the cottage. Bymid-day, the sun shone on the property and blissful afternoons werespent swimming, sailing and canoeing. The Lander children alllearned to swim on the sand beach. By the time the Lander childrenwere in their early teens, they took their small wooden boat over toBigwin Inn to hike up to the tower or visit the tea house for ice cream.The Glenmount tea house provides fond memories of cherry coke,the jute box, the nickel slot machine and collecting the mail at theGlenmount Store operated by Mr. and Mrs. Thompson and later byBessie Martin.

Ross Heaney, known as the “chicken man”, was a cottage character.Mr. Heaney drove an old Ford pick-up truck and delivered freshchicken and Muskoka lamb. Mr. Heaney entertained and scared the

young children by killing, plucking and skinning chickens and movingthe chicken feet back and forth. Mr. Heaney’s Muskoka lamb andchicken was a true organic delicacy. In the late twenties and thirties,William Langmaid operated a grocery boat which pulled up to docks,allowing cottagers to buy fresh fruit and vegetables. Billy Langmaidwas the son of the builder of the Morison cottage, and was proprietorof Langmaid’s of Baysville.

Every Victoria Day weekend, the families celebrated by lighting up thesky with fireworks, sparklers and rockets. The climax was the burningschool house – an event which all the young ones looked forward to.

Mr. Morison and Mr. Lander fished, and fried up their catch in a bigpan on the beach. Many memorable picnics took place on the beachin front of the cottages. Grown-ups dressed formally and continuedto do so in post-war times. Elgin Lander always dressed in a shirt, tieand fedora, even to rake the beach. Evening cocktails required formalclothing – a great contrast to today’s casual ‘anything goes’ attire.Music wafted across the lake from the Dance Hall at Bigwin wherethe Big Bands played on Saturday nights and C.O. Shaw and theAnglo Canadian band performed on Sunday afternoon.

Fifth generation cottagers Susan, Judith and Michael Morison and Patand Lee Butler remember the grown –ups of years past enjoyingboating and swimming in the lake, dances at Bigwin Inn and bridgegames.

Many years after the last hand of cards was dealt by the threeprincipals, E.V. Lander bought both cottages and boathouse in 1955.Interestingly, Mr. Millichamp sold Bigwin Island to C.O. Shaw in1910. Millichamp and Reuben Islands are named after ReubenMillichamp.

The architecture of the two cottages remain as it originally was in theearly 1920’s, with the exception of the enclosure of the front porchesthat spanned both cottages from east to west. Windows facing the lakehave been altered to allow for more light. The kitchen areas have beenmodernized to allow for electrical appliances and more counter space.Due to the ravages of the years, the 1923 boathouse was replaced in2012.

FINCH / BYRNES / SCOTT’S BOATHOUSE‘The Boathouse’ was built in 1924 for Gordon Tupper Finch, awealthy Toronto mining bond broker. The Boathouse was intended tobe the largest boathouse on the lake, and was famous for its partieswhen Bigwin Inn was a glamorous destination.

The double-slipboathouse is accessed bya bridge connected tothe mainland. TheBoathouse has fourbedrooms, a bathroomand maid’s room. Alarge living room with asubstantial andgorgeous stone fireplace(since removed) is atthe end of a longhallway. Off this grand living room is a covered veranda overlookingthe lapping waters of the lake. The original red painted wickerfurniture still graces the living room to this day.

The Boathouse interior walls and ceilings are constructed of Douglasfir, a great extravagance at the time. Inlaid, coloured tiles in the livingroom have been fashioned into a compass in the centre of the floor.Gordon Finch was an enthusiastic sailor, and porthole windows aswell as a red door on the ‘portside’ and green door on the ‘starboard’side of the building were installed to provide a nautical theme to the

structure. A flagstonepatio, located out ofthe wind, provided agathering space forsun bathing.

Gordon Finch chosethis location for hiscottage so he couldfollow the activities atBigwin Inn from theBoathouse veranda.

He went so far as to have an underwater telephone cable installeddirectly to Bigwin, so he could keep in regular contact with his client,Charles Orlando Shaw.

Gordon Finch also built a log cabin at the eastern end of the property.The cabin was used for spring and fall hunting trips, so the cottage didnot have to be opened. Gordon Finch tragically died in 1937 at age 52.

In 1938, Helen and John Byrnes from Hamilton bought theBoathouse. The Byrnes children spent the entire summer at Lake ofBays, making the voyage from Hamilton by car, enduring the stomachchurning Highway 118 (now Highway 117). They held their breathonce they got off the highway until they caught sight of their belovedcottage.

To the west of the Boathouse, was a cove where they spent the warmsummer days in the cool waters of the lake. They were carefullywatched over by their nana, Miss Jane Griggs. The cove was accessedby a ramp built by the Byrnes. The Byrnes children canoed andaround the lake. They rode their bikes to the Glenmount Tea Housewhere there was a nickel slot machine and they could get ice creamcones or sodas.

John and Helen Byrnes enjoyed the social life of the south shore andBigwin. They were also friendly with internationally renowned singerGisele LaFleche Mackenzie, who performed at Glenmount andBigwin.

In 1949, the Byrnes sold theBoathouse to Helen and JohnScott, The Boathouse haschanged very little during theScott’s tenure. It continues to be adestination and setting for manylively parties and family weddingsover the years. The Boathouseremains an icon of a splendid eraon Lake of Bays.

FINCH / BYRNES / PRINCE COTTAGESince it was built in 1926, the interior of the Finch / Byrnes log cabinremains unaltered. Summers are enjoyed there by Sheila ByrnesPrince, Michelle Byrnes, Connie Prince Gregory, Jean Prince, TerenceByrnes Prince, Caroll Thomas Prince, Carla Prince Lanzara andElizabeth Byrnes Lane.

The charming original Finch birch interior furnishings are cleverlyfashioned into tables, beds, side tables and chairs. In the Great Room,the log walls and vaulted cathedral ceiling are reminiscent of a huntinglodge. A beautiful stone fireplace adds warmth on cold days. Asleeping loft complete with log ladder is a favourite spot for thechildren to sleep. Anenclosed porch serves as anadditional bedroom and is awonderful place to watchstorms coming across thelake from Bigwin Island. Amassive outdoor stonefireplace and patio was thescene of many barbeques andpig roasts during the Byrnestenure. Chinese lanternswere strung from the trees toprovide an Asian theme tothe festivities.

FINDLAY / HOLTON COTTAGENumber 13, Lake of Bays

In 1923, Mary Lynn and Francis T. Findlay ventured from NiagaraFalls, N.Y. to Huntsville and the Portage. There they caught thePortage Flyer train to an awaiting steamer to the south shore of thelake and BigwinInn. The triptook an entireday.

On their boatride over toBigwin Inn, theyasked CaptainBilly Robinson ifthere was anyproperty for saleon the lake.CaptainRobinson agreed to take them to a beautiful property with 525 feet ofsand beach directly across from Bigwin. Frank and Mary immediatelypurchased the property from the Bailey’s down the road forapproximately $1 per shoreline foot. At the time there were twocottages to the west and to the east there was a mile of unsettledshoreline down to the Bailey farmhouse.

The Findlay’s returned the following year to clear the land and build alog cabin. Not realizing logs required seasoning; they built a rough-hewn board cottage. It was designed by an architect friend and wasknown as “The Red Cottage”. It had a balcony overhanging the livingroom with a huge fireplace, three bedrooms, a bathroom with dressingarea and a detached bunkie.

They ordered furniture from Eaton’s in Toronto, but when the familyarrived, the Eaton’s furniture had not. They cooked in the fireplace,ate on the floor and slept uncomfortably. Hence, the Findlay’s andtheir two daughters sought proper sleeping arrangements in atGlenmount Hotel until the furniture arrived.

Mary and Frank’s daughters Kay and Jane were responsible forcollecting the milk sold at the Bailey farm one mile up the road. Goingfor the milk was a big chore! Mary always pasteurized the milk andboiled the drinking water retrieved from the lake. Cottage life was noteasy but enjoyed by all. The vegetables were delivered by supply boatwhich traveled the lake twice a week. Ross Heaney came with freshchickens and leg of lamb in a gunny sack slung over his shoulder. Mr.Heaney would cut the lamb into any size using a butcher knife andsaw. Other supplies were retrieved from Baysville or Dorset, both ninemiles away or occasionally Huntsville, some 25 miles away.

In 1937 the dream log cabin, meticulously crafted of full round logswith oakum, was finally built on the middle property, 13 years afterthe first cottage. It became known as the “Big Log Cabin’’. It was builtby GordonRobinson, whowas born onFriday the 13th.Coincidentally,GordonRobinson alsobuilt theMillichamp/Lander/Butlercottage nextdoor. Theground wasbroke on May 13 and the family moved in on August 13th. Quite byaccident, the cabin is 13 logs high to the roof line and has 13 windows.There is an upper level for sleeping, including a cozy loft room whichmakes this a comfortable and intriguing design. A wood staircaseconnects the lower to upper level. Later a fully functional kitchen wasinstalled. The Findlay cabin endures as one of the finest log buildingsin Muskoka.

The family returned each summer, often with guests. The family didso much entertaining that in 1950 they added a guest house and maid’squarters. The guest house, a smaller version of the Big Log Cabin,became known as the Little Log Cabin.

The Findlay’s eldest daughter Kay married William K. Van Ormer in1941. They had three children, Lee, Peter and Catherine Their seconddaughter Jane married Charles L. Tate in 1948. The Findlay’s giftedthe “Little Log Cabin” to Jane. The Tate‘s comfortably spent everysummer in the smaller log cabin after Mary added a full countrykitchen, 13 years after the Little Log Cabin was built.

The “Big Log Cabin” always remained Mary and Frank’s. Maryhowever added two rooms, maintaining the historical full round logand oakum structure. First was a large and magnificent lake roomproviding a breathtaking lake view. Subsequently she added a masterbedroom with a bathroom and laundry, all at 13 year intervals. Theproperty was known to the family as Number 13 North Woods.

To Mary’s family and friends, she was an accomplished artist, painter,potter, sculptress and ceramicist. Adding to those gifts, Mary LynnFindlay became an author in 1973 writing Lures and Legends of Lakeof Bays. Her book was the first ever written exclusively on the Lake ofBays. The book cover depicts a painting by the author of the lake viewfrom the Big Log Cabin. Mary wrote in part, “It was 50 years agowhen we first came to Lake of Bays and we have come back every yearsince that time. Once you have felt the pull you can never completelyget away from the attraction of this north land. It is like a magnetdrawing you and holding you spellbound.” Her dedication reads: “ToFrancis T. Findlay, who first brought me to Lake of Bays.”

Mary and Frank’s grandchildren: Lee, Peter and Catherine Van Ormerspent idyllic childhood summers swimming, boating, water skiing,

sailing, golfing, fishing and camping. Diving was taught by next doorneighbor John Scott.

Each summer the family hosted a south shore Regatta on their beach.The winners of the swimming, diving and canoeing races wontrophies, always presented by Mary and Frank. Mary is also fondly

rememberedworking onher oilpaintings andwater colorson their beach.She evenpainted herownpersonalizedChristmascards,

depicting scenes of their beach. And one will never forget the traditionof The Birthday Tree, beside the Big Log Cabin beach. Kay and LeeVan Ormer both celebrated their birthdays in August. Mary wouldplace all of their birthday cards and whimsically wrapped gifts in thetree. She would then serve birthday cake but not just any cake. Marytraditionally hid pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters, eachindividually wrapped in tin foil, inside every birthday cake. All wouldscream with delight when they discovered money in their slice ofcake!

The Van Ormer’s huge dog Hughie was half Newfoundland. Thechildren often rode him at the lake as if he were a horse. Mary had apair of dachshunds named Eric and Elsa. Elsa gave birth to a littler oftwo puppies Mary named Minky and Monky. The fascinatingbirthing and whelping process took place in the Findlay’s upstairsdressing room.

On many evenings throughout the cottage season, all changed intoproper attire for the appointed 6 PM cocktail hour where thegrandchildren would greet guests and pass the hor d‘oeuvres. Formalsit down dinners or casual beach barbecues followed. Mary did all of

her own cooking and baking, often serving elegant desserts such asBaked Alaska or Rum Baba. Evenings were spent donning formalattire for gala dinners and dancing to the big bands at Bigwin. Thegrandchildren recall their grandmother, mother and aunt dressed informal attire and would walk the beach to the dock, shoes in hand,with the ladies holding their dresses up off the sand. At the dockeveryone would brush the sand off their feet before entering Frank’smahogany Chris Craft, the “Kay-Jay”, named after daughter’s Kay andJane, for the boat ride across to Bigwin. The grandchildren would driftoff to sleep to the sounds of Bigwin’s big band music. When the musicstopped one heard the familiar sound of Frank’s boat heading homewith cheerful chatter and laughter drifting across the lake above theroar of the boat’s engine.

One of the grandchildren’s lasting memories is that of Mary, afterlarge family dinners, seated by her stone hearth fireplace in what thekids called “The Candy Chair”. Mary would open a large drawerlocated in the base of the chair and hand out fancy chocolates to thechildren.

Francis Findlay passed away in 1971. Mary Lynn Findlay passed awayin 1983.Lindsay andAnneHoltonpurchasedthe Big LogCabin in2007.LindsayHolton’sparentswerefriends andneighboursof theByrnes in Hamilton. In 1955, Mary and Frank Findlay spent thesummer in South Africa visiting Jane and Charlie Tate. The Findlay’s

agreed to rent the Big Log Cabin the one and only time to Lindsay’sgrandfather, Dan Webster. In previous years, Dan Webster rentedcottages at Glenmount and Burnt Island Bay. He had just purchased acottage on Kerrimuir Beach, but did not get possession until after thesummer. Lindsay’s parents, his sister, his older and younger brotherand he stayed in the Big Log Cabin while the Webster’s stayed in theLittle Log Cabin.

Coincidentally, Lindsay was not aware of this history when he andAnne bought the Findlay property. This explains why Lindsay hadsuch an odd attraction to the Big Log Cabin when he got the“midnight call” that the property was for sale.

Lindsay and Anne have extensively renovated and restored the Big LogCabin. Today it is an outstanding example of master log constructioncombined with a delightful and cheerful interior design.

NOTES1. Findlay (1973)

2. Ross and Visser (1997)

ACKNOWLEGEMENTS

Contributions generously provided by, Gloria Woodside, DarleneMacNeil, Sue Morison, Sheila Byrnes Prince and Lee Van Ormer

The authors would like to acknowledge and to thank the following forphoto credits and for accounts which were incorporated into thisbooklet.

Photo CreditsSusan Morrison has provided her painting, “Lake of Bays” which isreproduced on the front cover.

Photos throughout this booklet were provided by Lee van Ormer,Scott Lindsey, Gloria Woodside, Judith Morison and Starshine VideoProductions.

PublicationsCurtis, Daphne, The Life of Norway Point

Findlay, Mary Lynn. (1973). Lures and Legends of Lake of Bays.Bracebridge: Gerald-Gazette Press

McTaggart, Douglas. (1992). Bigwin Inn. Toronto: StoddartPublishing.

Ross, Judy and Visser, John. (1997). At the Water’s Edge: Muskoka’sBoathouses. Erin: Boston Mills Press