Settler of township lot: Dwight Beach, Dwight
Dates of residency: 1875 - 1909
Interesting facts: From "Gouldie Reunion 1992", compiled by several members of the Gouldie family under the leadership of Irene Gouldie Clayton and Bob & Pat Gouldie, donated to the Dwight Public Library, January 1993.
Edmund J. Gouldie came to Canada in 1871. He first came to the Lake of Bays area as a trapper and trader. He paddled around the lake and discovered the beautiful sand bay on the north shore (where Dwight now sits) completely unsettled. Knowing of the the free land grants, he decided to stake a claim on the north shore and took up all the land surrounding the bay on the lake in 1875.
He cleared land and built a log cabin at the North East corner of the bay, near the lake. In 1878 he brought his wife Janet and three children by canoe from Dorset. (Ed and Janet Gouldie were eventually blessed with a family of nine.)
Unfortunately in 1884 they lost their home by fire. The men of the village who happened to be there quickly helped Ed build a more suitable home, using lumber from the mill. This house was higher on the hill, roughly where the Logging Chain Lodge now stands. Here they opened the first General Store, Boarding House and Post Office in 1885.
Many if not all people travelling to Oxtongue Lake from Huntsville at the turn of the century would have passed through Dwight and known the Gouldies, and likely availed themselves of some or all of the services he offered. Most old Oxtongue Lake families refer to their kind friends, the Gouldies of Dwight, in their memoires.
H.P. Dwight, one of the first tourists to Muskoka, with friends, had established a hunting camp in the area. Ed was a guide for these men for many years. H.P. Dwight was the president of the Great Northern Telegraph Company and extended telegraph line to the Gouldie house. One of the boys learned Morse Code and took messages ~ if he was around.
Mr. Gouldie owned a great deal of land in the area. On his property he helped with the first school built of logs, in 1885. He donated the land for the Presbyterian Church and saw it built in 1889 with all the men helping. The women, with Ed's wife Janet organizing, made noon day meals at the Gouldie house while the church was being built.
The family: Ralph, Jessie, Arthur, Stewart, Edith (married Jim Bradley), Norman, Wilbur, Nina (married Lorne Hawkes) and Elsie (married Charles Moore).
Mrs. Gouldie was ill from September 1894, and was taken to the Toronto hospital. Mr. Gouldie received a telegram on March 8, 1895 of the death of his wife who passed away suddenly with heart failure. She was buried Saturday, March 11 in the Presbyterian Cemetery in Huntsville. Mrs. Gouldie was sadly missed in the community. She was a remarkable woman and a great help in church work and the neighbourhood.
Mr. Gouldie married Annie Irving on April 1st, 1898 and she also took an active part in the village. They were blessed with three more children, Irene, Florence (married Boothby), and Irving. Mrs. Gouldie passed away nine days after the birth of her son Irving in 1907.
In 1908 Mr. Gouldie sold the business to Peter Newton.
Mr. Gouldie passed away October 23, 1909. His brother and wife, Archie and Annie Gouldie raised the family.
Preceding landowner: The Crown
Succeeding landowner: Various, as the property was sub-divided into lots
Link to Settlers of Algonquin Highlands family tree Edmund James Gouldie 1845 - 1909