Bala
is an unincorporated Canadian place located
in Muskoka Lakes Township where the Moon
River enters Lake Muskoka. It is considered
one of the hubs of cottage country located
north of Toronto, Ontario. Thus, its year-round
population of several hundred is swamped
by thousands of seasonal residents and
day-trippers. It was settled by Thomas
Burgess starting in 1868. It is named
after and now officially twinned with
the Welsh town of Bala in the United Kingdom.
Located on the Canadian Shield, it proved
unsuitable for farming and its fortunes
declined as logging became less economically
viable. In 1914, the town incorporated
with Burgess’ son as the first mayor.
Three years later, a small hydroelectric
dam was set up on the river. Muskoka Road
(formerly Highway) 169 still traverses
the top of the dam. The town was large
enough to be served by the Ontario Provincial
Police (home to the OPP's first police
station) and the Liquor Control Board
of Ontario.
In
1971, the town was amalgamated with other
townships and municipalities to form the
Township of Muskoka Lakes. Lucy Maud Montgomery,
author of the Anne of Green Gables books,
visited Bala in 1922. Based on a tenuous
connection to a beloved Canadian author,
a community museum featuring L.M. Montgomery
was opened in the 1990s. The more established,
larger and more wide-ranging community
museum remains at the Muskoka Lakes Museum
in nearby Port Carling, Ontario. Bala
maintains a link with its agrarian past
by hosting the Bala Cranberry Festival
each fall. Other notable sources of food
are Don’s Bakery, which has sold
bread, pastries and cookies for decades
from the same wooden building in the centre
of the community. Since 1942, under various
management and names, the community and
the surrounding area was offered live
musical entertainment.
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