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The first steamboat on the Magnetawan River was the 34-foot “Pioneer”, built in 1879 for service between Magnetawan and Burks Falls, a distance of 20 miles. In 1886 a lock was completed at Magnetawan, enabling steamer service to be extended an…

Local woodworking industries first used Burk’s Falls as a source of power in 1885. At this point the Magnetawan River, which rises in Algonquin Park and flows into Georgian Bay, drops 28 feet. In 1904 a rock-fill crib dam was built across the river.…