Lögberg-Heimskringla - 05.11.2004, Page 7

Lögberg-Heimskringla • Föstudagur 5. nóvember 2004 • 7
Destination
PHOTO: DAVID JÓN FULLER
Sunrise as seen from Walker’s Point on Lake Muskoka. Now a popular area for summer homes, the Muskoka region also saw early Icelandic settlement.
T0 HOBTH 8«
hMUSKOKA.
A beautiful landscape
Approximately two hours’
drive north of Toronto, Ontario
lies Muskoka — a countryside
of trees, lakes and pre-Cambri-
an rock, some of the oldest in
the world.
The Muskoka area is distin-
guished by its rugged terrain.
The Canadian Shield makes for
beautiful scenery, as the numer-
ous summer homes in the area
attest, but difficult settling as
some Icelanders in the late
nineteenth century found out.
The story is described in
the Icelandic Almanak as well
as partially in Don Gislason’s
The Icelanders ofKinmount and
in the M.A. thesis of Ryan
Eyford, “Icelandic Migration to
Canada 1872 - 1875: New Per-
spectives on the ‘Myth of
Beginnings’.” Icelanders were
encouraged to settle in the area
in the 1870s to work on rail-
roads and road building, and
also to cultivate the land. How-
ever, after it became clear that
employment opportunities were
not as great as had been expect-
ed, many Icelanders left to set-
tle in other parts of Ontario as
well as the United States.
Today, there are still some
people of Icelandic descent in
Muskoka.
H.P.
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