Dwight

By Guy Scott

The hamlet of Dwight is found at the north end of Lake of Bays. This huge lake is aptly named for its many inlets, bays and islands. The Lake of Bays is on the Muskoka River system, which stretches far into Algonquin Park and the townships to the north. The earliest industry was the logging industry, with massive drives moving through the lakes. But in the early days of settlement (1870s), farms were laid out along the shore. The first of these settlers was Edmund Gouldie who arrived via Dorset and the Bobcaygeon Road in 1871.

Dwight should have been named Gouldie after the original settlers. But in the early 1880s, H.P. Dwight, manager of the Great North Western Telegraph Company, established a hunt camp in the area. To keep in touch (and spend more time at the camp), he ran a telegraph line to the Gouldie house and even trained one of the family in Morse code. When a telegraph arrived, word was spread to get the message at Dwight’s Telegraph. Thus, the community’s name was shortened to Dwight and that became the postal name (1885). The Dwight-Wilman Hunt Club was labelled the oldest Hunt Club in America in later years.

Despite the fact that a road ran through the hamlet from Huntsville to Algonquin Park, and the Bobcaygeon Road was extended to the hamlet from Dorset by the late 1870s, transportation was difficult and sawmills in the area could not access outside markets. A steamer service was initiated along the Lake of Bays, but it could not reach Huntsville without loading and unloading. The railways also missed the area. So, Dwight depended on log drives and later tourism for its economy. The local reputation for natural beauty was well documented. An early settler in the 1870s wrote “I thought I had reached the jumping off spot of creation. The beauty was absolutely divine, beyond the power of brush or pen to express. It was to be shared.”

In the “Golden Age of Resorts” (1900-1939), numerous large and luxurious lodges and resorts were built all around Lake of Bays. These included the Bigwin Inn, Gouldie House, Pine Grove inn and the Hotel Britannia. These lodges were linked by steam boat to railways or roads from the outside world. After Algonquin Park was created in 1893, Dwight became a jump off spot or the western gate to the park. But access was gained by water or the Ottawa-Pembroke & Parry Sound Railway only until the 1930s. As part of its public works program during the Depression, roads were built and rebuilt all throughout the province. By 1937, Highway #60 was complete through Dwight into the park and across to Whitney on the east side. The through road truly made Dwight a gateway to the park. Dwight boomed as a (summer) jump-off spot for travellers. The businesses included 5 gas stations, 7 restaurants, 2 grocery stores, 5 lodges, 2 ice cream parlours and 2 marinas. Oh yes, Dwight also boasted a library, a school and a dance at the community centre every Friday night! Even today. Dwight is still the ‘west gate’ for Algonquin Park and a bustling tourist town in the summer season.