Dorset (Ont.)

The Lake of Bays Anglican Parish is a family of four country churches around the shore of the Lake of Bays in Muskoka. The Lake of Bays Mission officially formed in 1955. 

Two of the parish's four active churches are open year-round St. Ambrose in Baysville and St. Mary Magdalene in Dorset. St. James in Port Cunnington and St. John's in Fox Point are open in the summer (July and August).

Incumbents have included: Rev. Canon A.W. Hazlehurst (1895-1927), Rev. R.C. Warder (1927-1934), Rev. W. Ruthford Tindle (1934-1938), Rev. Canon Banks (1938-1940), S.S.J.E. Cowley Fathers (1940-1955), Rev. Roy H. Nixon (1955-1959), Rev. Tom James (1959-1963), Rev. Francom (1963-1967), Rev. Robert Lumley (1967-1973), Rev. Jonathan Patrick Earle (1973-1975), Rev. Murray Bradford (1975-1983), Rev. Ray Porth (1983-1989), Rev. Michael Cottrell (1989-1993), Rev. Thomas Cunningham (1994-?).

Sources:

• “Priests Who Have Served Lake of Bays Anglican Parish Including Baysville, Dorset, Port Cunnington (Fox Point)”, [1997], Diocesan Centre history files collection, Algoma University Archives, 2014-037_001_001.
• Gary Denniss, "A Brief History of the Churches in Muskoka", 1996, Synod of the Diocese of Algoma fonds, Algoma University Archives, 2009-156_002_009.

St. Mary Magdalene's Anglican Church (Dorset, Ont.) is a church within the Lake of Bays Anglican Parish (Dorset, Ont.)  

A rough construction of St. Mary Magdalene's was completed by April 1894, with much interior and exterior work planned. Although the church was able to be used for service, the first recorded Anglican service was held a year later on April 16, 1895. This first church building was destroyed by fire in 1906. The church was quickly rebuilt and opened its doors for service on September 1, 1907.

When the Lake of Bays Anglican Parish was formed in 1955, St. Mary's gained its first resident minister, Rev. Roy Nixon.  

In 1962 St. Mary Magdalene underwent substantial renovations including dismantling of existing porch, a larger entrance being added to the building, and interior upgrades to create an annex within the building. 

In September 1976, the congregation welcomed servers from St. Joseph's church in Bramalea, near Toronto. With their help, the church's old paint was scraped off and a fresh coat applied. 

Sources:

• "Bracebridge Mission", The Algoma Missionary News 6, no. 4 (1894): 5. Algoma University Archives, 2009-081_001_004_1894Apr.
• "The Bishop in Algoma", The Algoma Missionary News 3, no. 4 (1906): 4. Algoma University Archives, 2009-081_001_007_1906Apr.
• "Diocesan Notes", The Algoma Missionary News 4, no. 11 (1907): 6. Algoma University Archives, 2009-081_001_007_1907Nov.
• "Renovations Carried Out At St. Mary Magdalene's Dorset", The Algoma Anglican 6, no. 1 (1962): 1.
• "Servers from Toronto assist Algoma parish", The Algoma Anglican 20, no. 8 (1976): 5. Algoma University Archives, 2013-086_001_010_1976Sept.
• Gary Denniss, "A Brief History of the Churches in Muskoka", 1996, Synod of the Diocese of Algoma fonds, Algoma University Archives, 2009-156_002_009.