Gravenhurst is a town in the Muskoka Region of Ontario, Canada. It is located approximately south of Bracebridge, Ontario. The Town of Gravenhurst includes a large area of the District of Muskoka. The town centre borders Lake Muskoka and Gull Lake. Kahshe Lake is situated south of the town.
Gravenhurst was first known as McCabes Landing, named for its first settler James McCabe and his wife Letitia Simington, and later as Sawdust City. Gravenhurst was named by a postal official who was reading Gravenhurst or Thoughts on Good and Evil, a treatise by William Smith. It was incorporated in 1887.
Gravenhurst's economic prosperity stemmed from the construction of a colonization road in the 1850s. Steamboating on the Muskoka lakes began in the 1860s. The town was located strategically at the northern terminus of the Toronto, Simcoe and Muskoka Junction Railway. The town is positioned as the "Gateway to Muskoka".
The nearby Muldrew Lake was named after the lake's next settler, William Hawthorne Muldrew. He was the principal of Gravenhurst's first 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.
In 1942 the Royal Norwegian Air Force moved their training camp (Little Norway) from Toronto Islands Airport to a Muskoka airfield near Gravenhurst. They remained in Gravenhurst almost to the end of World War II in 1945.
Effective January 1, 1971, the Town of Gravenhurst was amalgamated with the Townships of Morrison and Ryde, as well as parts of the townships of Medora, Wood, and Muskoka, as part of the district's restructuring.
Between 1940 and 1946, Gravenhurst was home to a German prisoner-of-war camp known as Camp 20. The camp is also referred to as Camp Calydor and Muskoka OfficerâÂÂs Club. The camp had a swimming area fenced in on Lake Muskoka where the prisoners could bathe. By the end of the first summer, Camp 20 held 489 prisoners. They were taken around Gravenhurst to work on various projects. The prisoners of war built a set of stone steps leading down to the waterfront which can still be seen at Gull Lake Park today. They also built a lighthouse in the park.
The camp had its own gardens where the prisoners would grow their own vegetables and they were able to smoke sausages from the local animals. Some prisoners of war said that they became friends with the guards, who tried to make the place as friendly as possible to avoid escape attempts. Many prisoners worked outside of the camp and in lumber camps and received a small wage. Many had relationships with locals.
Ulrich Steinhilper, a German fighter ace who shot down five Royal Air Force airplanes during the Battle of Britain before himself being shot down, was one of the prisoners; he made at least five attempts to escape from various camps, his last two attempts being from Gravenhurst.
Today, all that remains of Camp 20 is concrete pillars, a fire hydrant, and the outline of a fence. There is an information kiosk at the end of Lorne Street where visitors can go to get more information on the camp.
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Gravenhurst had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
Age Structure (2021):
Parts of the Queen Elizabeth II Wildlands Provincial Park and Torrance Barrens conservation area are in Gravenhurst.
The Muskoka Wharf, located on Lake Muskoka, was completed in 2005. The project cost $170 million and spans 89 acres. Before the new development was built, the wharf was used for the lumber and boat-building industries. It was also the entry point to the lakes.
The wharf hosts a number of events in the summer, including Pirate Fest and the Gravenhurst farmers' market.
Every year Gravenhurst puts on a winter carnival for the community. Events at the carnival including donut-eating contests, snow yoga, ball hockey, a polar dip, and arm wrestling. The town hosts several dances, as well as fireworks for the closing ceremony at the Muskoka Wharf.
Gravenhurst is called 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 was removed but then rebuilt in 2009 and stands at the south end of town. It is the home port of the RMS Segwun, the oldest vessel powered by a working steam engine in North America.
Ontario Northland Motor Coach Services provides inter-city bus service to Gravenhurst along its Toronto to North Bay routes. The nearby Muskoka Airport has scheduled flights to Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport and also serves general aviation.
The former Gravenhurst railway station was served by Ontario Northland Railway's Northlander passenger train until the train was discontinued in 2012; it is currently vacant.
Starting in 1958, Gravenhurst was home to the Ontario Fire College. The college was run by the Province of Ontario, under the Fire Marshall's Office, and offered training and education programs based on the Ontario Fire Service Standards. Courses were available to members of any Ontario municipal fire department. The Ontario Fire College was closed in 2021.
Public education consists of Gravenhurst High School and two elementary schools administered by the Trillium Lakelands District School Board.