Ontario's Historical Plaques 


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Founding of Bala 1868

Founding of Bala 1868

Photo by Alan L Brown - Posted May, 2005

Founding of Bala 1868

Photo by contributor Wayne Adam - Posted December, 2009

Plaque Location

The District of Muskoka
The Township of Muskoka Lakes
In Bala, in a park north of the north bridge
on the west side of Road 169


Coordinates: N 45 00.831 W 79 36.877

Map

Click here for a larger map

Plaque Text

Thomas W. Burgess, Bala's first settler, brought his family here to "Musquosh Falls" in 1868, probably aboard the steamer "Wenonah". Burgess opened a sawmill and store to serve the pioneers attracted by Muskoka's free land grants. A post-office named after Bala in Wales and with Burgess as postmaster, was established by 1872. That year the Musquosh Road linked Bala with Gravenhurst and by the 1880's the settlement was benefiting from a growing tourist trade. Railways reached Bala by 1907 and it became one of Muskoka's most accessible tourist resorts. When it was incorporated as a town in 1914, Dr. A.M. Burgess, a son of the community's founder, became the first mayor.

Related Ontario plaque
Steamboating in Muskoka 1866-1959

More
Information

More
Settlements

More
Muskoka Lakes Plaques




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