The Township of Algonquin Highlands is a lower tier municipality located on the western side of the Haliburton Highlands in Central Ontario. Algonquin Highlands includes the geographic townships of Sherborne, McClintock, Livingstone, Lawrence, Nightingale and Stanhope.
I like to call it the Centre of the Universe.
We are “cottage country” where myriad clear lakes and endless forests are dotted with an eclectic mix of traditional old jumbly cottages and modern seasonal homes. The township has four main communities – Carnarvon, Stanhope, Dorset and Oxtongue, each of which has a colourful and well-documented history.
Carnarvon today is but a crossroads of two highways straddling Algonquin Highlands and its neighbour to the south, Minden Hills. Beyond the stoplight and the handful of businesses is a settlement originally called Brown’s Corners where the original “union school”, Fry’s blacksmith shop and Rogers’ Store lie quietly waiting to tell their stories; where creative businesses flourish in these re-purposed buildings and where an entire generation grew up with in the shadow of the old Browndale Camp up on Cowen’s Hill.
Stanhope remains the “township without a town”; a community of loggers and farmers where the absence of a village forced people to create their own sense of community. Home of the Hawk Lake Log Chute, famed racehorse Guilford Boy and myriad colourful characters, the Stanhope area of Algonquin Highlands is the headwaters of the Trent-Severn Waterway and is a picturesque and storied community of toil, innovation, tenacity and creativity.
Dorset’s story is steeped in its waterways where the legendary Royal Mail Ship steamboats of the early 1900s plied their trade to places like the Bigwin Inn and some 21 other grand hotels of the era. At its height, the town boasted five hotels, three stores, three churches, two sawmills, and one jail. The area’s culture was based on a tough and self-sufficient syle of people: farmers, loggers, fishers, carpenters, guides and mid-wives. Today its culture is embodied by the Dorset Lookout Tower, the rebirth of the Bigwin Steamship and a connection to Group of Seven painter Franz Johnston, murals of whose work have been commissioned by the Dorset Museum.
At Oxtongue Lake, people initially settled the area to service the huge lumber companies in the Algonquin region and as a result, a small community sprang up around those services. The rugged hinterland was an attraction to the likes of department store founder Timothy Eaton and Group of Seven legend Tom Thomson, and Oxtongue Lake’s long flat surface was a testing ground for Art Asbury’s Miss Canadian and the hydroplane speed records he set in the 1950s.
The permanent population of Algonquin Highlands is just under 2,000 folks, however the Voters’ List from the 2010 municipal election indicates 7,754 eligible voters. Seasonal residents push that 2,000 up to about 8,000.
While forestry and farming were initially the main economic drivers in the area, tourism first began in the early 1900s when the railway to Haliburton offered “Hunter’s Excursions” to “one of the best hunting and fishing districts in Ontario“.
Once logging ended in the 1920s, it didn’t take long for farmers struggling on the hardscrabble Canadian Shield to realize that the area’s lakes and rivers were a huge attraction to outdoorsmen who needed food, supplies, guides, and places to stay. The cottage boom occurred during the 1930s when improved roads provided easier access and farmers sold waterfront bush lots for as little as $1 per foot.
While forestry is still a mainstay of industry, the tourism industry is the primary employer of the area and creative economy businesses are increasing in number. The township (and in fact the entire county) is an immensely popular recreation area that boasts an extensive cottaging community, a wide range of outdoor experiences, and a vibrant arts, cultural and creative business community.
Community life is enriched by events and festivals planned by various organizations, some of which are municipally-managed and others of which are organized by local groups.
If you already know Algonquin Highlands, you already love it. If you don’t, then come on up and we’ll introduce you …
