Port Cunnington Community Centre
A gathering place in the Muskoka woods
Township of Lake of Bays, Muskoka
Bingo
Every Thursday · 8:00 p.m.
Community Pot Luck
Last Saturday of the month · 6:00 p.m.
Find us
About the Centre
The Port Cunnington Community Centre is a volunteer-run hall serving the families, cottagers and year-round residents along Port Cunnington Road and the north shore of Lake of Bays.
The building is the old Port Cunnington schoolhouse. It has no paid staff and no regular funding — it runs on the people who show up, on the money taken at the door on bingo night, and on the fees from private bookings. That has kept the lights on and the roof sound for generations, and it is why the hall still belongs to the community rather than to anybody in particular.
Everyone in the area is a member. There are no dues and nothing to join. If you live here, summer or year-round, the hall is yours to use: come to bingo, bring a dish to the pot luck, rent it for a birthday or a memorial, or stand for the board at the annual meeting.
- Built as a schoolhouse
- [c. 1890]
- Seats
- [about 80]
- Run by
- Volunteers
- Membership
- Free, and open to all
The board
Elected each year at the annual general meeting.
- President[Name]
- Vice-President[Name]
- Treasurer[Name]
- Secretary[Name]
- Bookings[Name]
- Property & Maintenance[Name]
What happens here
Through the year, alongside private bookings.
- Thursday night bingo
- Monthly community pot luck
- Annual general meeting
- [Seasonal craft and bake sales]
- [Children's activities in summer]
- Private bookings — birthdays, showers, memorials, meetings
Events at the hall
Two things happen here without fail. Everything else is posted on the sign at the end of the driveway — and here.
Bingo
8:00 p.m.
Every Thursday
Doors open at 7:30. Everyone is welcome, regulars and visitors alike — come early if you want your usual seat.
Community Pot Luck
6:00 p.m.
Last Saturday of the month
Bring a dish to share and your own plate and cutlery. Tea and coffee are always on.
Coming up
[10:00 a.m.]
[Annual General Meeting]
[Placeholder] Yearly meeting of the association: accounts, elections to the board, and plans for the coming year. All residents welcome.
[9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.]
[Fall Craft & Bake Sale]
[Placeholder] Tables of local crafts, preserves and baking. Tables can be reserved through the booking form below.
7:00 p.m.
DEPLOY SMOKE TEST — safe to delete
Created by an automated deployment check. Delete me.
[6:00 p.m.]
[Christmas Pot Luck & Carols]
[Placeholder] The last gathering before the winter break, with carols around the piano.
The old schoolhouse
The hall has been the meeting place for this stretch of Lake of Bays for well over a century — first as a one-room school, then as the community centre it is today. Much of what follows is still being assembled from the association's records and from what people remember.
[1890s]
A one-room school in the bush
The building went up as the Port Cunnington schoolhouse, put together by the families who had taken up land along the road — among them the [FOUNDING FAMILY], whose name the port still carries. Timber came off the surrounding lots and the work was done by the settlers themselves.
It was a single room with a stove in the middle, and it served every child on this side of the lake at once, from the youngest through to those old enough to be needed at home. Children walked in from as far as [distance], and in winter they came by sleigh.
[Standing in for an archival photograph] The shingled gable is original to the schoolhouse. [1950s]
From schoolhouse to community centre
When the section schools were consolidated in the [1950s] and the children began to be bussed into [Dwight], the building fell empty. Rather than let it be sold off or pulled down, the families along the road took it on themselves and reopened it as a community hall.
The desks went, a kitchen and a serving hatch went in at the back, and the room was left otherwise much as it had been. Bingo started not long after and has run on Thursday nights ever since.
[Standing in for an archival photograph] The front entrance, with the later accessible ramp at left. Since then
Kept up by whoever was around
Everything added since has been added by volunteers: the rear extension under the green roof, the concrete foundation beneath the original frame, the ramp and the accessible entrance, the flagpole on the lawn. None of it was contracted out and all of it was paid for out of bingo nights and hall rentals.
The sign over the door was cut and painted by hand, and it has been repainted rather than replaced every time it has needed it. It is the same sign in the photograph at the top of this page.
The row of tall windows along the south wall is the clearest sign of the building's schoolroom origins.
Have photographs, minute books or memories of the school? The history above is still incomplete, and we would like to get it right. Please get in touch using the form below.
Photographs
The hall and its grounds, photographed in summer. If you have older pictures of the building, or any of the school, we would be glad of copies.
Book the Hall
The hall is available to anyone in the community for birthdays, showers, memorials, meetings and sales. Tell us the date and we will tell you whether it is free.
What it costs
- Full day
- $[125]
- Half day
- $[75]
- Meetings
- $[40]
- Refundable deposit
- $[100]
9:00 a.m. to midnight. Kitchen and hall.
Four hours, morning or afternoon.
Up to two hours, hall only.
Returned once the hall is left clean and undamaged.
What you get
- Main hall seating [about 80]
- Kitchen with fridge, stove and serving hatch
- Tables and stacking chairs
- Accessible entrance, ramp and washroom
- Parking on the gravel lot
- [Wi-Fi — confirm whether this is available]
Where we are
1608 Port Cunnington Road[Dwight], Ontario [P0A 1H0]
Township of Lake of Bays, Muskoka
Questions we are usually asked
How do I book the hall?
Send the form on this page, or email us directly. Someone from the board will get back to you to confirm the date is free and to arrange the key. Bookings are not held until you have heard back from us.
How far ahead should I book?
[Two to three weeks is usually enough, though summer weekends and the December dates go early.] If your date is close, send the form anyway and we will tell you quickly whether it is possible.
Can we bring alcohol?
[Only with a Special Occasion Permit from the LCBO, which the person booking is responsible for obtaining and displaying. Please tell us on the form if you intend to serve alcohol.] Confirm this wording with the board before launch.
What condition do we leave it in?
Swept, wiped down, rubbish bagged and taken away with you, and everything back where you found it. There is no cleaner — the next booking gets the hall exactly as you leave it, which is why the deposit exists.
Is the hall accessible?
Yes. There is a ramp to the side entrance, an accessible washroom, and designated parking beside the path. The main hall is on one level.