Huntsville, Ontario


Huntsville is a town in the District Municipality of Muskoka, Ontario, Canada. It is located north of Toronto and south of North Bay. Of the three major Muskoka towns, Huntsville has the largest population and land area.
Huntsville is located in the hilly terrain of the Canadian Shield and is dotted with many lakes. Due to its natural environment and natural resources, Huntsville is a tourist destination that draws many people from around the world. The Toronto Star ranked the town the #1 place to take a summer trip in 2011.
Huntsville serves as the western gateway to Algonquin Provincial Park via Ontario Highway 60 and was the host to the 36th G8 summit in June 2010, at Deerhurst Resort.

History

The first European who settled in the area in 1869 was George Hunt, who built a small agricultural centre. In 1870, a post office was built and the area was named Huntsville after Hunt, who became the first postmaster. Huntsville's economic development was stimulated by the engineering of a navigable water route north from Port Sydney to Huntsville, which opened in 1877. A railway route from Gravenhurst was built by the Northern and Pacific Junction Railway in 1885, which encouraged development and resulted in Huntsville becoming officially incorporated in 1886.
In the following year, the Muskoka Colonization Road reached this area. The central Ontario community became an important industrial area in the late 19th century and had several saw, planing, and shingle mills, as well as a tannery. Today, the many lakes and hills in the area, combined with the town's proximity to both Algonquin Park and Toronto, make Huntsville and the Muskoka region a major tourist destination.
In 1965, the town annexed part of Chaffey Township. On January 1, 1971, the Town of Huntsville was greatly enlarged during the district's restructuring when it amalgamated with the townships of Brunei, Chaffey, Stephenson, and Stisted, as well as the Village of Port Sydney.
In June 2010, Deerhurst Resort in Huntsville was host to the 36th G8 summit.

Empire Hotel

On 8 October 2009, Huntsville lost one of its valued landmarks, the Empire Hotel. The first building erected at the site of the Empire Hotel was Jacob's Hotel, built around 1875 by James W. Jacobs. He later renamed it Dominion Hotel. Jacobs died in 1890 and left behind his wife and eldest daughter, both of whom were named Emma. It is unknown which woman married a McLaughlin man, but the McLaughlin family renovated the building after the horrible Main Street fire of 1894.
The 26 July 1906 issue of the Huntsville Forester reported the sale of the hotel to Robert T. McNairney and D. Kehoe, who demolished it to expand it three stories. By 1922, the Dominion was owned by Bruce Simmons. Organized in 1933, the town's rotary club began to meet at the hotel and would for many years. In 1945, the hotel was bought Louis Mascioli of Timmins. From 1947 to 1948, the Mascioli brothers renovated and expanded the facility, removing the porches, adding street level retail units, and erecting the adjoining four-story red brick building. They also renamed it the Empire Hotel. The first shops were a barbershop, a jewelry store, and a shoe store. Beilhartz shoes remained in business in the Empire Block until 1985.
In the mid-1980s, Jim Tumber, who acquired the building along with Gary Macklaim, obtained a grant from the Government of Ontario to help convert the now-derelict building from a hotel into an apartment building.
Dave Keay, the building's last owner, bought the Empire in 1999. Over the next 10 years, he refurbished the basement bar and the 52 apartments and did most of the work personally. The fire happened on the day that Keay had just finished the outside painting.
The fire was believed to be caused by an electrical problem, but the exact cause is still unclear. As of March 2023, the lot is empty.

Geography

There are three large lakes within the township boundary: Mary Lake, Lake Vernon, and Fairy Lake, as well as countless smaller lakes. Peninsula Lake, Skeleton Lake, and Lake of Bays lie directly outside the town. The Muskoka River winds its way through the city's downtown, and the Big East River empties into Lake Vernon. The Arrowhead Provincial Park is also located within city limits.
The Canadian Shield causes many scenic hills and sweeping landscapes throughout the region. The city centre is made up of hills and steep roadways. While there are some flat, low-lying areas, much of the city lies on uneven terrain.

Climate

Huntsville experiences a humid continental climate, with warm, humid summers, and cold winters. The town has four distinct seasons. Particularly during the colder weather season, there is considerable variance in day-to-day temperatures. Huntsville is located in the snowbelt region of Central Ontario, near the Great Lakes, causing snowy winters and lake-effect snow. The town has comfortable summer temperatures and occasional heatwaves accompanied by high humidity and active thunderstorm weather. Huntsville and the Muskoka region have the highest annual precipitation of any region in Ontario.

Communities

In addition to the city centre, the following communities are also located within the municipal boundaries:
  • Allensville
  • Ashworth
  • Aspdin
  • Britannia Road
  • Canal
  • Centurion
  • Etwell
  • Grassmere
  • Hidden Valley
  • Hoodstown
  • Ilfracombe
  • Lancelot
  • Martins
  • Melissa
  • Muskoka Lodge
  • Newholm
  • Norvern Shores
  • Parkersville
  • Port Sydney
  • Ravenscliffe
  • Stanleydale
  • Utterson
  • Vernon Shores
  • Williamsport
  • Yearley
The ghost town of Emberson was a rural postal village from 1874 to 1924 serving near by bush farms and logging camps. Today, the area is covered over and reached by foot from the northern terminus of Brunel Sideroad 1.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Huntsville had a population of living in of its total private dwellings. This is a change of from its 2016 population of. With a land area of, it had a population density of in 2021.

Economy

Major employers in Huntsville include Deerhurst Resort, Trillium Lakelands District School Board, and Kimberly Clark.
Due to the influx of tourists during the summer months and the abundance of seasonal residents, Huntsville's economy is primarily service based. There are also many people employed in construction trades. Although there is progress being made, Huntsville's unemployment rate has long been above the provincial average. This is largely due to the seasonal nature of its tourism industry.
Main Street is home to various business and services for Huntsville. Huntsville Place Mall, on Main Street East, features many retailers. The mall also has ten Tesla superchargers.

Government

The town's council is made up of nine members. The members include the mayor, three town and district councillors who represent the town at the municipality of Muskoka council, and ward councillors who represent the wards of Huntsville, Chaffey, Stephenson-Stisted-Port Sydney, and Brunel.
A regular council meeting is held once a month in the Council Chambers in the Huntsville Civic Centre.
From December 2019 to November 2022, the mayor of Huntsville was Karin Terziano. She had served as the acting mayor between 12 November 2019 and 17 December 2019. On 17 December 2019, Terziano was appointed to fill the vacancy of the mayor's office because of Scott Aitchison's resignation to become a federal MP for Parry Sound-Muskoka.
On 11 February 2019, Bob Stone was appointed to fill the vacant Ward One seat vacated when Mayor Terziano was appointed mayor.
On 24 February 2019, the council appointed Councillor Nancy Alcock to serve as Deputy Mayor. Alcock had previously served as the alternate deputy mayor. Councillor Jason FitzGerald was appointed alternate deputy mayor.
Members of the 2018–2022 council term were:
  • Deputy Mayor Nancy Alcock
  • Brian Thompson
  • Tim Withey
  • Bob Stone
  • Jonathan Wiebe
  • Dione Schumacher
  • Jason FitzGerald
  • Dan Armour
  • Mayor Terziano
In early 2022, Mayor Terziano announced her intention to retire at the end of the term. Four individuals announced their bids to become mayor. Former Fire Chief Steve Hernen, incumbent Town and District Councillor Tim Withey, taxi stand owner Ruben Bullion and incumbent Deputy Mayor Nancy Alcock ran for the office. Deputy Mayor Alcock won the election. Hernen, Withey, and Bullion placed second, third, and fourth respectively. Nancy Alcock was sworn in as the second female mayor of Huntsville and the first elected female on 21 November 2022.
  • Mayor Nancy Alcock
  • Deputy Mayor and Town and District Councillor Dan Armour
  • Town and District Councillor Scott Morrison
  • Town and District Councillor Bob Stone
  • Helena Renwick
  • Cory Clarke
  • Dione Schumacher
  • Jason FitzGerald
  • Monty Clouthier

    Huntsville Town Hall

Built in 1926, the Classical Revival administration building was designed by Toronto-based Ellis and Belfry and was last renovated in 2006 with an added annex. Council is exploring options to deal with the aging structure. The clock faces were salvaged on 17 August 1927 from the demolition of the 1873 Union Station in Toronto. The building's land was once used as an early burial ground and Methodist manse for what was the Huntsville Methodist Church next door. During the construction of the town hall in the 1920s, skeletal remains were unearthed, which showed that not everything had been moved to the new Locks Cemetery site. The building involved two decades of planning.

Culture

Huntsville is a home to many acclaimed visual artists. Famed Canadian artists such as Tom Thomson and his successors, the Group of Seven, painted frequently in Huntsville. The Group of Seven Outdoor Gallery has over 40 outdoor murals celebrating the work of these Canadian heroes. Local community visual arts group, The Huntsville Art Society, hosts many annual shows, exhibits, and skills-sharing workshops throughout the year.
Many summer camps for children such as Ontario Pioneer Camp, Camp Wabanaki, Camp Mini-Yo-We, Muskoka Woods, Camp Nagiwa, Camp Tawingo, and Olympia Sports Camp are within a few kilometers of Huntsville. Resorts such as Deerhurst Resort, where Shania Twain was discovered in 1988–1989, Hidden Valley Resort and Cedar Grove Lodge are located within the town's boundaries.
Huntsville supports a number of arts festivals. The Huntsville Festival of the Arts provided a seed grant which funded a book of poetry entitled Fringe Festival Poetry, Poems from the Poetry Cafe, edited by June Salmon and Marta Mirecki-de Roode. Other local arts activities include the annual Muskoka Novel Marathon, started by Canadian authors Martin Avery and Mel Malton in 2001, the Film North – Huntsville International Film Festival which had its inaugural year in 2010, and most recently Nuit Blanche North, produced by the Huntsville Festival of the Arts and Edge of the Woods Theatre.
There are also many new arts organizations and associations. The Huntsville Art Society is a not-for-profit membership of local visual artists who opened an art gallery called The Art Space. Edge of the Woods Theatre presents artistic works by the community in Huntsville. They hold an annual traveling outdoor theatre event, as well as facilitate many different arts education projects for local seniors and youth within the community.
The Algonquin Theatre is a performing arts theatre, located within Huntsville's municipal centre. The theatre provides space for local dance, music, and school activities. For profit venues are also scheduled, and most of the labour is provided by local volunteers.
Keith Bellows, editor in chief of National Geographic Traveler and vice-president of the National
Geographic Society, has included Huntsville and the Muskoka region in his book 100 Places That Can Change Your Child's Life.