Person:Charles McKenzie (8)

Origins It is unclear where Charles McKenzie grew up, however, his birth place is listed as Ontario (1871 census), Quebec (1881 Census) and Ottawa (death certificate). One researcher speculates that he may have been born in the Glengarry settlement.

1858-59 In 1858-59, the colonization road was extended north of the Severn River. In a 1931 article, Harry Linney mentions that Charles McKenzie helped to build and grade the Muskoka Road ( as it was called ) . He described Charles as the "principal man in carrying out the work." (The Linney Collection, kept at the University of Toronto Archives, is a major source of information about early Muskoka. )

May 1860 A different record states that in May, 1860, work was being done on the Peterson Road in the Prospect Lake area " under the foremanship of Charles McKenzie." The Peterson Road led from Ottawa and met the Muskoka Road at Muskoka Falls, north of Gravenhurst. In 1859, men were being hired at Severn Bridge to work on the Peterson Road.)

1865 Apparently, in 1861 a Mr. H.W. Dillon established a hotel at Severn Bridge, on the north side of the River. Earliest religious services were held in the parlour of the hotel. It seems a Mr. John Tipping acquired the hotel, and then sold it to Charles McKenzie in 1865. The mortage was discharged to the Tipping Estate in 1873.

The Minutes of Morrison Township dated Sept. 28, 1865, show that Charles McKenzie was granted a licence as a tavern keeper at Severn Bridge.

The Council meeting of Nov. 18, 1865, was held at "the house of Mr. Charles McKenzie. A " house", i.e. tavern ), could be licensed only if it contained " at least four bedrooms for travellers over and above those used by the family, and no less than stabling for three pairs of horses with hay and provender to the satisfaction of their Inspector." At the February 27, 1866 Council meeting held "at the house ( i.e. hotel ) of Charles McKenzie, a license was granted for the sale of beer and spirits.

18 Nov 1865 The Morrison Township Council met " at the house of Charles McKenzie, Severn Bridge, on November 18, 1865. ( This confirms Charles had established by that date. The "house" is probably the hotel. )

25 Oct 1867 An article in the Orillia EXPOSITOR dated October 25, 1867, reads that " North of the Bridge on the east side of the road, Mr. Charles Mc Kenzie is erecting a large building intending in all probability for a stable and driving shed, his present outbuildings being insufficient to accommodate the numerous teams which remain overnight at his place."

The space above the shed was used as a meeting hall for concerts, dances, church services, political, and Lodge meetings. It seems early school classes were held there. The hotel itself was enlarged in 1873, as a result of increased business. (The Muskoka Road had been planked a year or two previously. The railroad would arrive at Severn in 1874. McKenzie's stable could accommodate 75 teams of horses.Stages and wagons carried passengers and supplies to, and lumber from Muskoka Wharf, where the Cockburn steamships and the numerous lumber mills were located.)

Before 1874 Before the arrival of the railway at Severn Bridge in 1874, most of the incoming pioneer settlers travelled by stage, oxen-pulled wagons, and even on foot, and the demands on the McKenzie Hotel ( and Tavern ) as well as the stable accommodation, must have been considerable. Further, by that year lumber mills grew on the south side of the Severn River, so that the McKenzie Hotel would accommodate both railway and lumber mill workers. And the new railway brought many tourists and sportsmen, including Americans, to Severn Bridge on their way to the camping sites and hotels on nearby Sparrow Lake and northward on the Muskoka Lakes.

1871 Canadian Census Charles McKenzie, born about 1840 in Canada, is living in Morrison, Muskoka District. He is of English origin and he is protestant. His occupation is tavern keeper.

18 Apr 1874 An article by an unnamed commercial traveller printed in the CANADIAN ILLUSTRATED NEWS on April 18, 1874, recalled a trip he had made several weeks earlier. " We left Orillia at 6:30 a.m. on a February morning. Washago was at length reached, a place at which we did not stop, but drove on two miles farther to Severn Bridge...Stopping at the Hotel, kept by Mr. McKenzie, for some breakfast, I soon found by the disgust he expressed at the result of the recent election, that A. P. Cockburn was 'not his man'."( Cockburn was Liberal) " The bar room was full of his retainers, and glum they looked as they bemoaned the fact that they had "lost their votes" as they styled it. Having the occasion to walk over to the driving shed where the horses were tied, I was greatly puzzled by a confused and muffled hum overhead nearby, like a swarm of bees. Enquiring from the driver, I was laughingly informed that the sound proceeded from a school situated in the loft, rather an odd locality, it struck me, for teaching the young... Leaving Severn Bridge after a substantial breakfast, we drove on twelve miles further to Gravenhurst..."

16 Mar 1874 The Agricultural Society of Morrison Township was formed on March 16, 1874. Charles McKenzie was the first president. ( A Fall Fair is held annually in Severn Bridge to this day.

28 Jan 1875 From the Orillia EXPOSITOR of January 28, 1875: "Times are getting lively here ( i.e., Severn Bridge ) since we got the railway terminus...The Northern Railway Company is working on a railway bridge to cross the river....An entertainment in the upstairs ballroom of McKenzie's drew such a crowd that there were fears of the floor collapsing. However, timbers were put underneath as added support, and the fete went ahead as scheduled. It consisted of plays, tableaux, and music. The Hall was tastefully decorated with flags, evergreens, and mottos."

1881 Canadian Census Charles McKenzie, age 41, born in Quebec is living in Morrison, Muskoka, Ontario. He is a hotel keeper. His ethnic origin is Scottish. His wife is Mary M. McKenzie, 40, born in Ontario and of Irish origin. She is also Presbyterian. They are living with their children: John, 14, Charles, 12, Isabella Maude, 10, Flora, 8, Ida, 6, Annie, 2, and William Robert, 1. There is one servant living with them as well as two labourers and two shoe makers.

7 May 1892 Charles McKenzie, 53, born in Ottawa, died of a bursting blood vessel. Charles McKenzie Jr. was the informant.

After his death Following Charles' death in 1892, the McKenzie family sold the hotel.

Orillia newspapers referred to his death. The TIMES of May 12, 1892, reported that the Orillia Masonic Lodge conducted the funeral, and noted that he was the first to be initiated into that Lodge, which was formed in 1867. The article added that he " was known to every camping party that visited the section at that time. He was a good, generous citizen whose place will be hard to fill." He was also a member of the Gravenhurst Lodge of the Ancient Order of United Workmen.

1. ↑ Ontario, Canada Deaths, 1869-1932
   Roll: MS935_65. .
2. ↑ Ontario, Canada Census Index, 1871.
3. ↑ Ontario, Canada Census Index, 1871.
4. ↑ Ontario, Canada Deaths, 1869-1932.
5. ↑ Ontario, Canada Deaths, 1869-1932
   Roll: MS935_65.
6. ↑ Email from Cecil James Porter
   Aug 14, 2007.
7.   Email from Cecil James Porter.
8.   Email from Cecil James Porter.
9.   Email from Cecil James Porter.
10.   Email from Cecil James Porter.
11.   Email from Cecil James Porter
    8 Jan 2008.
12.   Email from Cecil James Porter.
13.   Email from Cecil James Porter.
14.   Ontario, Canada Census Index, 1871.
15.   Email from Cecil James Porter.
16.   Email from Cecil James Porter
    8 Jan 2008.
17.   Email from Cecil James Porter.
18.   Email from Cecil James Porter.
19.   Email from Cecil James Porter.