The Cottages on Main Street Dorset, Ontario

The Cottages On Main Street Dorset, Ontario Compiled and edited by Paul Dillenberger The Cottages on Main Street Dorset, Ontario INTRODUCTION Heading south, the road that passes by the Dorset Community Center and Robinsonǯs General Store, goes over the old bridge, ǡǲ ǡǳ a ǲǤǳ It is also known as Rte. 39. It used to be the only road that went through Dorset (before the Hwy. 35 bypass). At that time, Main Street consisted of the end of Hwy. 118 (renamed Hwy. 117) and part of the Bobcaygeon Road (later the old Hwy. 35). At the southern most part of Main Street (past the Dorset Garage), is a string of cottages along the shore of Trading Bay just outside the village of Dorset. Many of those cottages, due to their pro ǲǳ ǡ cottages on Lake of Bays. This booklet is about those cottages. First you will be introduced to the history of the village of Dorset, many of whose businesses operated on Main Street. Then four cottages on Main Street will be featured, each with a unique story, related in a unique style. Throughout the booklet, you will notice common references to places and people. It is hoped that you will enjoy learning about this ǯ ry. HISTORY OF DORSET - Written by Michael Woodside Ǥ ǯ always called Dorset, nor were many of the local ǲǳ around the village called what they are called today. In the days of Zachariah Cole, back in the mid-nineteenth century, Dorset was called Cedar Narrows, so-called because squirrels could jump from one side of the narrows to the other by way of the dense stands of cedars lining the shallow waters. Carts and horses could easily ford the narrows, and planks were placed down for pedestrians. When the dam went in at Baysville early in the 20th century, Cedar Narrows became much wider and deeper, more like the narrows are today. Across Trading Bay was Bummers Roost, which is now part of the Ǥǯ named after the first Postmaster, George Phillips, but gradually ͳͻͷͲǯǤ apparently as a result of the impoverished first settlers who could only grow corn in the Muskoka soil. Down at the end of this bay, ǡ ǯ spanning the Hollow River, and named after J. B. Shrigley, who ran the first lumber mill in 1874. At the corner of the bay was Red-Eyed Wiggler Corner, named so because an elderly settler, who had a deep love for strong drink, kept his whisky bottles in earth or snow banks and wiggled them out when required. Zach Cole changed the name of Cedar Narrows to Colebridge in 1879, but it was discovered that there was already a Colebridge in Ontario; so to accommodate the installation of a Post Office, Colebridge was changed to Dorset in 1883. Dorset is an abbreviation of Dorsetshire, England, in which there is the town of Sherbourne, the name of one of the Dorset area townships. Zach had a 17- ǯ and the LCBO are today. Part of the Bobcaygeon Road ran through his property, and he named it Cole Street. As well as building his home here, he built a small hotel named The Colebridge. It is sometimes conjectured that the LCBO did not arrive in Dorset until the mid 1960s as a result of what might have transpired on a Saturday night at The Colebridge, not to mention what the ǲgoings-onǳ might have been across the Ǥ ǡ ǯ throw from the Colebridge, was the village jail, which remained ͳͻʹͲǤ ǯ store b ǯǯ LCBO. While farming was a major activity in the summer months, trapping and logging were the occupations in the winter months. In areas to the north, logs would come down the Oxtongue River from Algonquin Park and floated down Lake of Bays to Baysville and the South Muskoka River. Otherwise, logs would come down from Kawagama Lake to Raven Lake and the Black River and then on to Washago and the Severn River system. In 1894, Angus McKay built a second lumber mill on Harvey Avenue. The Gilmour Tramway was built in order to send lumber directly to south-central Ontario; it was gradually abandoned as the age of logging slowly came to an end and tourism began to take over. In 1871 Charles Drake built a second hotel on the south side of the narrows where the Trading Bay Dining Company now resides. This early hotel evolved into the red-brick, three-story Hotel Dorset, after burning down in 1907. It had wooden balconies on three sides of the first two floors. Since then it has gone through several transformations, including going from hotel to restaurant. Another hotel was erected across the street from the Hotel Dorset. It was originally called the Alvira House ǯ ǡ Ǥ Later, it was called the ȋǲ ǳȌ ǡ down in 1927. ǯ on the north side in 1905. Mr. and Mrs. Fred McKey also built a ǯerty (after his death). However, when Fred McKey died, his wife married Harry Robinson, and in 1921, the McKey store became the now famous Robinsonǯs General Store. Dorset in the early days Hotel Dorset (center left) Ȃ The Alvira (center right) Ȃ ǯ (center) Ȃ Burk & Avery (right of Hotel Dorset) - The Iroquois Steamboat is docked in front of the Alvira. There were many stores that came and went on the south side, ǯ Ǥ ǲ Ǥǳ ͳͻʹʹ previous owners dating back to 1879 when Tomas Ball owned it. Jack Clayton (and later, his son John Clayton) operated Claytonǯs General Store until 1995. The Post Office was located in this store until 1964 when a new Post Office was built across the street. Rafters and Oh Buoy! Take Out are now located in the old ǯ Ǥ There were other stores as well. ǯwas established in 1899, where the Trading Bay Dining Company parking lot is located today. It became the Cassidy & Sparks store, which burned down in 1907, was rebuilt, then sold to Charles Burk and became the Burk & Avery store; it burned down in 1944. The Dock in Dorset - 1985 Pictured: Jack Clayton (center right), Robert McLaughlin (lower right) and Paul Dillenberger and his son, Timothy (walking toward the steamboat) There are several other structures of note, which add to ǯ Ǥ erected in 1922, but its status and purpose formally changed in 1967 when it was rebuilt and changed to a 100-foot observation tower. Today it is a popular tourist destination. The Lake of Bays Marine Museum which now provides a home base for the newly renovated Bigwin ferry and a Lake of Bays souvenir emporium, used to be a marina operated by the ǯ Store next door. Prior to that, in the days of steamer transportation on the lake, the Lake of Bays Navigation Co. used steamers in the summer months to deliver mail and to ferry passengers to Dorset from around Lake of Bays. The steamer Iroquois would dock in the narrows overnight, while the captain and crew would sleep in the upstairs of the Marina. Today Dorset is a bustling and vibrant little community with much to offer residents and tourists alike. On long holiday weekends in the summer, it is often standing room only in the little village, with boats galore, divers on the bridge, great shopping and wonderful sunsets by Bummers Roost. - Written by Paul Dillenberger This article is about Point Sibylla, that magical place, located somewhere in Canada. In my world as a child, I remember hopping into the backseat of the car at our home in New Jersey. Many hours later, after fighting with my brother, traveling on Route 11 (then a two-lane, two-way road) in heavy traffic, and experiencing that long, windy roller coaster ride on Hwy. 118 (now Hwy 117), we'd pull into the driveway of the cottage. That driveway, which is probably 50 metres in length, seemed like it was a mile long. Finally, after what seemed to be forever, I could see the backside of the cottage. As soon as the car stopped, we would all jump out and run down to the lake. And sure enough, in my excitement and like it was on cue, I would fall off the dock, fully dressed, into the shallow water, a yearly experience for me. This of course occurred when I was a young kid in the 1950s. In the 1960s, my teenage years, the routine changed. We would first stop at Lake of Bays Marine (now Pride of Lake of Bays) to pick up the boat. I was allowed to drive the boat to our boathouse, while my mother would drive the car to the cottage. In any case, arriving at the cottage was a very special experience for me. And now in my sixties, I still get excited driving down that "long" driveway for the first time each summer season. My brother and I now get along; Hwy. 11 is a major freeway; the roller coaster road has been straightened making the trip half as long; we wait a few days to pick up the boat; and miraculously I remain on the dock as I view the water for the first time. Point Sibylla, named after my great grandmother (her middle name was Sibylla), is a point of land located just outside the village of Dorset, Ontario on Trading Bay, part of Lake of Bays. The cottage was built in 1910 at the direction of my great grandfather, Daniel B. Stumpf, a holistic doctor from Buffalo, New York. He was a fisherman who loved to head north to the lakes of Ontario for his fishing trips.

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