Muskoka District Court House 1900

Photo by Alan L Brown - May 8, 2005

Plaque Location

The District of Muskoka
The Town of Bracebridge
On the NE corner of Dominion Street and Ontario Street

Plaque Text

Bracebridge has been a centre for the administration of justice in Muskoka since it held the first court sessions in the region in 1868. The province built this court house after Bracebridge became the District Town of the new District of Muskoka in 1898. It is an early example of a style of court house built by Frank R. Heakes, who became chief architect in Ontario's Department of Public Works in 1896. Its classical form and red-brick, two-storey design also distinguished Heakes' later court houses in Kenora, Fort Frances, Haileybury, and Sault Ste. Marie. These prominent public buildings proclaimed the significance of the justice system in the civil administration of the province.