Unique Muskoka August
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150th Anniversary Feature<br />
the demand. They turned to the Nipissing II,<br />
which had been dry docked since 1914. The<br />
old ship was in bad shape but its 124-foot<br />
iron hull and lower decks were still<br />
sound. Months later, the old side-wheeler<br />
was converted into a propeller steamer and<br />
set sail on July 29, 1925. It was renamed as<br />
the Segwun, which is Ojibway for springtime.<br />
Boom years lasted until the 1920s, but the<br />
world was changing. Cottagers were using<br />
their own motorboats to get around the<br />
lakes. The automobile also gave people a new<br />
form of mobility. Then came the stock<br />
market crash of Oct. 29, 1929, which<br />
triggered the Great Depression. Tourism<br />
crashed in <strong>Muskoka</strong> as people could not<br />
afford to come north.<br />
In 1958, the Sagamo and the Segwun, the<br />
last two steamboats on the <strong>Muskoka</strong> lakes,<br />
stopped cruising. The Sagamo was turned<br />
into a floating restaurant but was destroyed<br />
Above: The Sagamo, which had its maiden voyage on June 15, 1907, was 152 feet long and could hold<br />
800 passengers and 26 crew members. It was destroyed by fire in 1969.<br />
Below: The early fleet of the <strong>Muskoka</strong> and Nipissing Navigation Company in summer drydock.<br />
Photograph: Courtesy of the <strong>Muskoka</strong> Steamship & Historical Society Photograph: Courtesy of the <strong>Muskoka</strong> Lakes Museum<br />
1874<br />
1881<br />
1885<br />
1887<br />
June 1905<br />
A new dam is<br />
built at Bala Falls,<br />
which makes it possible<br />
to control lake levels<br />
and allows the<br />
Wenonah to navigate<br />
without running aground<br />
or hitting unexpected<br />
rocks.<br />
A.P. Cockburn<br />
incorporates the<br />
<strong>Muskoka</strong> and Nipissing<br />
Navigation Co., which<br />
has a fleet of six ships<br />
that includes<br />
Wenonah,<br />
Wabamik, Nipissing<br />
and three tug boats.<br />
The Wenonah is<br />
retired to an island<br />
near Walker’s Point<br />
and serves as a house<br />
boat for the Cockburn<br />
family.<br />
The Nipissing II<br />
launches.<br />
A.P. Cockburn dies at<br />
the age of 68.