Before it ended in 1852, the Irish Potato Famine resulted in the death of one million people by starvation and related causes. Between 1845…
Ballantrae was settled in the early 1800s and became a busy economic centre for the surrounding lumber trade. This community had several hotels, blacksmiths, general stores, the Mayflower Stamping Company (to mark barrels and other containers), a shoemaker and four or five sawmills. Willie Anderson, the first teacher who taught in the one-room log schoolhouse on Lakeshore Road, named the hamlet Ballantrae in honour of his Scottish heritage. Nearby, the community of Musselman’s Lake is named after the Musselman family who bought land surrounding the kettle lake in 1807. Peter and Jacob Musselman came from Pennsylvania and settled on the west side of the lake. The area was such a popular summer resort during the late 19th century up to the 1950s, that so many services, including Sunday worship and the post office (1933-1969) were seasonal. Cedar Beach Park, on the north side of the lake, became an entertainment hot spot when George Davies, Sr. built a pavilion there in 1929.
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