History Baldwin - Floods and Rescues
]]> -79.3328762054443,44.2539908142694 Baldwin - General Store (Past Owners)
]]> -79.3443024158478,44.2618746490653 Baldwin - Glaciers to Cobblestones
]]> -79.3444633483887,44.2620744206195 Baldwin - Grist Mill
]]> -79.3427360057831,44.2610986069723 Baldwin - One-Room Schools, Five Mile Treks
]]> -79.3478536605835,44.2599537340926 Belhaven - Early Roots
]]> -79.4315385818481,44.2663770277911 Belhaven - Stage Coaches the more than fifty taverns located along the route, helped make community a focal point for the surrounding countryside. For a brief time, the Belhaven Hotel, a blacksmith shop and a general store gave Belhaven such prestige, it became the home for the North Gwillimbury Council meetings. (They were initially held in the hotel, then after 1927 in the newly-built Community Hall, then in
the Family Life Centre, and finally in the Civic Centre, the seat of Georgina’s government today.)

]]> -79.4291996955872,44.2626276306115 Georgina Island - Cut Off and Life -79.3178558349609,44.3405474317177 Georgina Island - Jewel of the Lake In 1830, Snake and two other Chippewa communities (led by Chief Assance and Chief Yellowhead) were moved to 9,800 acres near what is now Coldwater, Ontario as part of the government’s Coldwater Experiment to colonize the Chippewa people. Then, just six years later, the Chiefs were forced to surrender these lands under treaty. Chief Joseph Snake slowly moved his people back to Snake Island. By 1860, the band had outgrown the small Snake Island and Chief Snake moved his people onto the larger and more spacious Georgina Island. ]]> -79.3048095703125,44.353805300207 Historic Lakeshore - Balfour Beach
]]> -79.4902896881104,44.2653782363358 Historic Lakeshore - Crecent Beach
]]> -79.4454002380371,44.3097849986773 Historic Lakeshore - Island Grove the land and Snake Island linked by a ferry. Long-time Reeve Charles Willoughby is credited with building a store and post offi ce there and it was his wife who named the community for the island and the large grove of elms on the mainland. Other families associated with the early development of the Island Grove community include Sheppard, Draper, and Pugsley. Hollywood Lodge was central to the development of the area for day trippers and seasonal residents.

]]> -79.4668579101562,44.3040114075378 Historic Lakeshore - Mossington Point strategically positioned along the front of the house and a trap-door inside offered an escape for occupants through a tunnel which led to Lake Simcoe. A York County map of 1884 identifies other early lakefront
owners in the area as Davies, Sibbald, Cowan, Lindsay and Cameron. The popular Budapest Lodge was one of a chain
of lakefront lodges. ]]> -79.3969058990479,44.3236024582175 Historic Lakeshore - Orchard Beach Orchard Beach course.

]]> -79.488787651062,44.2554354946774 Historic Lakeshore - Roches Point tract in 1822 for £450 from original settler James Roche. Maitland saw Keswick (as the area was called at the time) as the ideal lookout across Cook’s Bay to Holland Landing to provide security from attack by Americans. In 1862, Reverend Walter Stennett, a minister and former teacher
at Upper Canada College, settled in the area and as therapy, built the beautiful and charming Christ Church. Among his real estate activities was building a house “Beechcroft.” Soon afterwards, Anson G. P. Dodge, American ex-pat and president of the Georgian Bay Lumber Company, turned it into a gabled mansion with 40 acres of beautiful garden. A later owner of Beechcroft was fi nancier Sir Edmund Osler and the property remained in Osler family hands for over 100 years. The neighbouring estate Lakehurst is of equal historical prominence.
This 1860s mansion was once owned by a British naval offi cer, Captain Isaac May. His steamer, Emily May, was one of many that criss-crossed the lake connecting many Lake Simcoe communities. Lakeshore lodges were an early feature of Lake Simcoe tourism. Several were located in Roches Point including the Hamilton and Morton lodges.

]]> -79.5056104660034,44.2690506321673 Historic Lakeshore - Snake Island colonization. They were returned six years later and thrived under Chief Snake’s leadership. He later moved his people to the larger Georgina Island nearby.
In 1919, Jacob and Mary Big Sail who were one of the few native families remaining on Snake Island invited John Brundle, acknowledged as the island’s first “cottager,” to build a cabin. Mr. Brundle was followed by the Beattie
family who built a girls’ camp, and by 1935, approximately 135 cottages had been erected. In 1954 Ontario Hydro laid armoured conductor cable to Snake Island and a telephone line followed a few years later. Today, many
cottages dot the periphery of the island and the only evidence of the original native settlement is a graveyard where Chief Joseph Snake is buried. ]]> -79.4805908203125,44.3140226988378 Historic Lakeshore - Willow Beach farmed by his great, great granddaughter Margaret and her husband Gary Sedore, a descendant of another Willow Beach fi rst family. Reed/Sedore family folklore tells of a native trading tree still standing on the property where early settlers traded eggs and butter for fi sh and Indian baskets.

]]> -79.4295215606689,44.3104605945673 Pefferlaw a Century Ago …was at the pinnacle of its fortunes. A sawmill and gristmill were turning a tidy profit and sharing the spotlight with a tannery, a brickworks and a woodworking factory. The business core was booming with at least two general stores, several artisan shops (foremost among them a smithy), a barbershop, a bank, and two hotels lining the streets. In addition there was a school and several churches. The surrounding lands were under intensive cultivation with the farms well established and prospering and a weekly
market held in town on Fridays. In 1906, Pefferlaw would have been home to approximately 500 people.

]]> -79.2068338394165,44.3153046963865 Udora - General Store outlet in town.

]]> -79.1836380958557,44.2573642413874 Udora - Grist Mill
]]> -79.1846197843552,44.2601996147117 Virginia Beach - Eildon Hall
]]> -79.3263101577759,44.333664126706 Lore and Stories Baldwin - General Store
]]> -79.3446779251099,44.2620206360371 Baldwin - The Black River
]]> -79.3513834476471,44.2599306827319 Georgina Island - Chief Charles BigCanoe
The ongoing saga of the final move of the Chippewas to Georgina Island tells of often- imposed hardships and geographical challenges to overcome. However, culture remained rich, and most of their old forest remains intact. Now, a brighter future is envisioned by the Chippewas for their Jewel of Lake Simcoe.

The mainland’s “stage” was set by early pioneer Susan Sibbald who with “irrepressible optimism” brought Scottish aristocratic civility to the area, beginning with
a two-storey Regency addition to her log house in the forest, evening soirees and croquet on the lawn.
This early home, once called “beauty unsurpassed” by writer Stephen Leacock still awaits its brighter future – with loving restoration being needed.

]]> -79.2958831787109,44.3758950839491 Pefferlaw - WM. H. Johnson House -79.1974514722824,44.3155042862996 Udora - School Section #5 focal point of the community. From the mid 1800’s to 1970 it was the centre for education and also for many community activities. More than just a place to shop,
a rural general store is a social centre where people gather casually to share news and tell tall tales.

]]> -79.1882729530334,44.2680826170411 Virginia Beach - St. George's Anglican Church and Cemetery
]]> -79.3324765563011,44.3313138723805 Virginia Beach - Susan Sibbald The ongoing saga of the final move of the Chippewas to Georgina Island tells of often- imposed hardships and geographical challenges to overcome. However, culture remained rich, and most of their old forest remains intact. Now, a brighter future is envisioned by the Chippewas for their Jewel of Lake Simcoe.

The mainland’s “stage” was set by early pioneer Susan Sibbald who with “irrepressible optimism” brought Scottish aristocratic civility to the area, beginning with
a two-storey Regency addition to her log house in the forest, evening soirees and croquet on the lawn.
This early home, once called “beauty unsurpassed” by writer Stephen Leacock still awaits its brighter future – with loving restoration being needed.

]]> -79.3240356445312,44.3243392980007 Areas of Concern / Special Places Baldwin - Architectural Legacies
]]> -79.4342637062073,44.2951886935039 Belhaven - Farming: The way of Life reside here!

]]> -79.4342851638794,44.2647482206896 Pefferlaw - The River and Lake Lore word that means “black”. The early settlers translated
that to the Black River, which later led to confusion since Sutton has a Black River as well. After a time the river became known as the Lower Black River and the Pefferlaw River, but today it is officially known as the Pefferlaw Brook. To locals it’s simply ‘The River’.

Lake Simcoe looms large on all accounts in the Pefferlaw area. For most of the 19th century, sailing sloops and steamships provided a reliable connection to other communities and were vital for the village’s economic development. During the winter, men took to the lake to harvest ice and to ice fish --the latter developing into an economic legacy still prominent today.

]]> -79.2011260986328,44.3123030892867 Recreation Historic Lakeshore - Easbourne William Woods who sold 200 acres to early cottager Tom Bradshaw. Once the Toronto York Radial Railway began operating the area became a magnet for celebrities and families. The Eastbourne Golf Club, still the hub of the community, was originally a five-hole course with tomato cans for holes and cricket stumps for teeoffs. The course was later re-designed by a pro from Toronto’s Rosedale Golf Club. By 1913, the Eastbourne course was surrounded by charming summer homes and has been a recreational mecca for Canadian golf champions.

]]> -79.4761276245117,44.2992201241963 Pefferlaw - Parkland
]]> -79.1943454742432,44.309140104437 Virginia Beach - Sibbald Point Provincial Park Costumed interpreters, treasured heirlooms and priceless family stories bring this period of history to life. There
are two interesting trails—the Maidenhead Fern Trail, a 2 km path that highlights local flora and fauna –and an historical walking path that explores the lives of the
Sibbald family.

]]> -79.3260955810547,44.3228656091793 Food and local products Belhaven - Single to Mixed Crops and growing vegetables. In general, mixed-farming remains the norm in Georgina to this day.

]]> -79.4264316558838,44.2640720988263 Events Belhaven - A Binding Sense of Community The Hall has housed visits from the likes of singer Kate Smith, and Maple Leafs hockey champs represented by Captain Syl Apps. Many residents met their spouses here especially during WWII. There have also been endless
weddings and showers, social dances, concerts and
parties with live orchestras, baseball, euchre, horseshoes
games, and greased pig events. Farm meetings with junior
farmers and 4H clubs were held here too plus school
concerts, drills, recitations and speech contests, fairs, Little Theatre and Sunday School. “Lots of laughter and happy intergenerational times.”

]]> -79.4292372465134,44.2625584796472 Virginia Beach - Duclos Point
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