From Wayback Wednesday, sponsored by Jamie Lockwood, broker/owner of Sutton Group Muskoka Realty!
The Spence Inn, now located at Muskoka Heritage Road.
The Spence Inn, preserved on the grounds of Muskoka Heritage Place, hails from the ghost town of Spence. It represents the last of perhaps two dozen coaching stops that operated in the 19th century along the Nipissing Colonization Road, stretching from Lake Rosseau to Lake Nipissing. That number was necessary because travel was often limited to about 12 miles a day on the rugged road.
The roadside inn was built in 1878 by Levitt Simpson, a 54-year-old immigrant from England, and his wife, Ann, and their four children. The inn catered mostly to tired travellers along the road. At one point the hamlet of Spence was a thriving little community, with an estimated 100 permanent residents and various businesses including a blacksmith, general store, carpentry shop, sawmill, and blacksmith as well as a church, school, and an Orange community hall.
When the railway was brought in, Spence’s appeal as a stop on the road became less attractive and eventually it became a ghost town. More details on the Spence Inn can be found in Founded on Stone: Tales of Early Parry Sound District by Andrew Hind.
You can also find a video on Nipissing University’s website about colonization roads.
See more Wayback Wednesday photos here.
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