Arts, Culture and Heritage

Gravenhurst is your Gateway to arts, culture and heritage.

Did you know Gravenhurst was home to a Prisoner of War Camp, a nationally recognized Tuberculosis Hospital and the training Base for the Norwegian Air Force? Or, did you know that we are the first Town Incorporated in Muskoka and the home of the World's Largest Muskoka Chair? Now you must have known we are the home port to the Oldest Operating Steamship in North America and the Last Royal Mail Ship in the World.

If you didn't know any of these tidbits, then you need to read more and explore our rich Arts, Culture and Heritage. Named after a Washington Irving book we were also once called Sawdust City for the over 35 mills operating in Town to support the Lumber Industry that basically supplied the materials that built the City of Toronto.

Did you know that Gravenhurst is also birthplace of International Cultural Icon, Dr. Norman Bethune. Dr. Bethune is a national hero in China and in Canada and is most known for the creation of a mobile blood transfusion unit and the first mobile medical unit. His revolutionary work led to the creation of the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital and the preservation of countless lives.