Unique Muskoka August

150th Anniversary Feature
Photograph: Courtesy of the Muskoka Lakes Museum
Muskoka's Steamship Revolution
Article by Jack Hutton
The history of Muskoka may have
been far different if a stubby little
sidewheeler called Wenonah had
not been launched on June 1,
1866 on Gravenhurst Bay, becoming the
first steamboat to sail on Lake Muskoka.
The 80-foot ship had been under
construction all winter, not far from where
Boston Pizza is located today. Folks on shore
watched in suspense as it was slowly eased
through the marshy shoreline into the lake.
30 UNIQUE MUSKOKA August 2016
There was both applause and a huge sigh
of relief when the Wenonah was finally
afloat. More than a few wondered, however,
whether Alexander Peter Cockburn, the
29-year-old businessman who commissioned
the steamboat, had taken leave of his senses.
Everyone knew that lake levels varied nine
feet between spring and late fall. There were
no lighthouses, no wharves around the lake
to dock a steamboat, no skilled mechanics to
repair the ship’s engine. Who was crazy
enough to launch a steamboat at this time?
Now, 150 years later, we know that the
scoffers were wrong. The launching of the
Wenonah inspired a steamboating era that
would change Muskoka forever. It has taken
us all these years to realize the full impact
that Cockburn had on Muskoka, not only in
steamboating but also immigration and
tourism.
Born in 1837, Cockburn came with his
parents at the age of 20 to Kirkfield, east of