Falkenburg

Introduction

Falkenburg was a small lumbering settlement on the Muskoka Colonization Road first settled around 1862. The new settlers were energetic and enthusiastic and lost no time. By 1863, they opened a post office and both saw and shingle mills.

At its height, Falkenburg was home to a store, Anglican Church, school, and an Orange hall. Businesses included two hotels that accommodated stage traffic along the Muskoka Road. Other business included a store, carpenter, shoemaker, plasterer and a blacksmith shop.

The arrival of the Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) led directly to Falkenburg’s demise in the early 1890s. Once the railway arrived, stage travel dried up and the hotel business came to an end.

Just to add insult to injury, rather than building a station in Falkenburg, the GTR built their own station village a few kilometres south, named Falkenburg Station. Businesses quickly moved to the new townsite to be closer to the station.

Today very few vestiges remain of Falkenburg. The village still contains a few homes, of more recent vintage, and supports a small rural population. The ruins of a sawmill from a later period lie to the west of the townsite. By contrast, Falkenburg Station is still thriving. Learn more