Other Archives | "Are We There Yet?" Highway-Based Tourism In Kawartha Lakes

Greetings From Rosedale

This postcard captures the essence of what it was like to drive into the natural beauty of northwestern Kawartha Lakes.

Tourists Enjoy Branson’s Gallery in Rosedale

In 1952, the Lindsay Daily Post ran an editorial which urged every town or hamlet in the municipality to open a small museum or other roadside tourist attraction. […]

Business Card Issued by Graham Beach Camp Grounds, Cottages, and Cabins

Chester Graham operated a private campground on Lake Dalrymple, about 20 kilometres northwest of Kirkfield. In addition to camping, Graham offered cottages, cabins, and boats for rent as […]

Roadside Tourist Camp, Norland

Roadside “tourist camps” began to appear in northwestern Kawartha Lakes during the 1920s and 1930s. Sometimes called “motor camps,” they were informal affairs – often consisting of little […]

Before GPS and Google Maps, Tourists Depended on the Ontario Motor League Road Book

Travellers making their way into northwestern Kawartha Lakes during the 1950s benefited from publications issued by the Ontario Motor League. These booklets, complete with maps, showed drivers the […]

Places to Go, Things to See: The Kawartha Lakes Tourism Association’s “Travel Vacation Guide”

The Kawartha Lakes Tourist Association (KLTA) was “comprised of representatives of businesses large and small in the Counties of Peterborough and Victoria, as well as the municipal councils […]

Mealtime on Mitchell Lake: The Shallamar Diner

Famed aerial photographer Harry S. Oakman took this image of the Shallamar Diner around 1969. Operated by Ted and Wally Polomski in the late 1960s, Shallamar incorporated a […]

The Rosedale Motel

The Rosedale Motel was one of several motels which opened for business along Highway 35 North during the 1960s and 1970s. Others included the Mulberry House Motel north […]

The Kirkfield Inn: “One of the Finest Places of its Kind in Canada”

Funded by Margaret Mackenzie and opened in 1913, the Kirkfield Inn was praised as being “one of the finest places of its kind in Canada, and should prove […]

Statement of Account Issued by Brentnell’s Garage, Victoria Road

Durant cars were popular in Victoria Road, with Charles H. Davey (1883-1953) being the local Durant agent prior to H. Brentnell becoming a dealer in “Durant Service and […]

Filling Up at J.B. Oliver’s Service Station, Rosedale

James Bruce Oliver (1896-1970) owned and operated this picturesque stone service station in Rosedale through the 1940s and 1950s. In addition to dealing in Shell gasoline and oil, […]

Finding a Place to Park: Automotive Traffic on Nelson Street in Downtown Kirkfield

Highway 46 was known as Nelson Street within the village limits of Kirkfield. By the early 1930s, it was seeing more automotive traffic as cars grew in popularity […]