Explore the remnants of vanished villages across Ontario’s cottage country.

Crumbling foundations lost in the forest, weathered buildings leaning wearily with age, cracked tombstones jutting from the ground — all serve as haunting reminders of once thriving villages that have since been abandoned. Each of these locales has a distinct story to tell, stories that until now were confined to fading memories and grainy photographs.

From the northern shores of Georgian Bay to the eastern reaches of the Kawarthas, Ontario’s cottage country is littered with vanished villages, including settlement-era farm communities, railway whistle-stops, and logging hamlets. Within these pages, readers will venture into Ontario’s past to learn how these communities lived and died and to meet the people who invested their hopes and dreams in them. Dozens of photographs, many historical and never before published, bring these ghost towns back to life.

Join Andrew Hind in exploring over a dozen villages across the districts of Parry Sound and Nipissing, Muskoka, and the Haliburton Highlands.

ANDREW HIND is a freelance writer who lives in Bradford, Ontario. His feature articles have appeared in magazines and newspapers across Canada, in the United States, and in England. Andrew developed a passion for history early on, especially for unusual and obscure events that are typically overlooked or quickly forgotten. He hopes, through his writing, to bring these fascinating stories to light for a modern audience.

Andrew Hind's profile page

You would be hard-pressed to find a better snapshot about the back story of cottage country.

The Record