Gravenhurst, Ontario

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Town of Gravenhurst, Ontario
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mapsize = 200px
map_caption = Gravenhurst's location in relation to Ontario.
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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = Canada
subdivision_type1 = Province
subdivision_name1 = Ontario
subdivision_type2 = District
subdivision_name2 = Muskoka
subdivision_type3 = Municipality
subdivision_name3 = Gravenhurst
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leader_title = Mayor
leader_name = Andrew Yancoff
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population_as_of = 2001
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settlement_type = Town
population_total = 10 899
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timezone = EST
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
latd=44 |latm=55|lats= |latNS=N
longd=79 |longm=22 |longs= |longEW=W
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area_code = 705
website = http://www.gravenhurst.ca
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Gravenhurst (2001 population 10,899) is a town in the Muskoka Region of Ontario, Canada. It is located approximately 15 kilometres south of Bracebridge, Ontario. The mayor is John Klinck. The Town of Gravenhurst includes a large area of the District of Muskoka, known to Ontarians as "cottage country." The town centre borders on two lakes: Lake Muskoka, which is the largest lake in the Region, and Gull Lake, a smaller cottage-bordered lake. Another lake, Kahshe Lake, is situated ten kilometres south of the town.

History

Gravenhurst was originally named McCabes Bay and later as Sawdust City. Gravenhurst was named after a village in England which is mentioned in Washington Irving's "Bracebridge Hall".

Nearby Muldrew Lake was named after the lake's second cottager, Dr. William Hawthorne Muldrew. He was the principal of the first Gravenhurst high school in 1894. In 1901 he published a book called "Sylvan Ontario, A Guide to Our Native Trees and Shrubs". It was the first book published on this subject in Ontario, and the drawings were his own. All the different types of trees and shrubs of Muskoka could be seen at the school, as he transplanted many of the specimens from Muldrew Lake.

From 1940 to 1943 Gravenhurst was site of "Little Norway," an important training camp for what is today the Royal Norwegian Air Force during World War II. From 1940 to 1946 Gravenhurst was the site of Camp XX, the Gravenhurst Internment Camp, for Nazi Prisoners of War, known locally as "the Muskoka officers club". Before the war it was the Calydor Sanitarium. After the war it was turned into a TB sanitarium, again, and later became a kosher resort called The Gateway.

Demographics

Age Structure
*0-14 years: 14.6%
*15-64 years: 64.3%
*65 years and over: 21.1%

Education

Gravenhurst is home to the Ontario Fire College.

Transportation

Gravenhurst also declares itself the "Gateway to the Muskoka Lakes" and has a large gate bearing this message hanging over Muskoka District Road 169, the main road leading into town from Highway 11. The gate has recently been taken down and will be rebuilt on Bethune Drive. It is the home port of the "RMS Segwun", the oldest vessel powered by a working steam engine in North America.

Famous residents

Dr. Norman Bethune was born in Gravenhurst and his family's home there has been preserved as a Canadian National Historic Site. Canadian authors Martin Avery and Christina Kilbourne come from Gravenhurst and have depicted it in several books lof literary fiction.

References

External links

* [http://www.gravenhurst.ca/ Town of Gravenhurst]