The Property
Background
The former Logging Chain Lodge property was purchased by the Township of Lake of Bays with the intention of creating a new public park. The site offers a unique opportunity to create a natural greenspace that celebrates the environmental beauty and heritage of the Dwight area while providing opportunities for users to enjoy the outdoors. The future design and use of the park will be shaped through a public planning and consultation process led by the Township.
Why This Site Matters
The property represents an opportunity to create a lasting community asset that protects important natural landscapes, provides accessible outdoor spaces, reflects the heritage and identity of Dwight, and supports health and a deeper connection to nature.
Existing heritage structures on the property – including the barn and house – may offer opportunities for adaptive community use, heritage interpretation or gathering space, subject to future study and planning considerations.
History of the Logging Chain Lodge Property
Early Settlement and the Founding of Dwight
The site that is now the Logging Chain Lodge property has deep roots in the early settlement of Dwight and the Lake of Bays region.
Edmund J Gouldie, considered the founder of Dwight, settled the area in the 1870s. A trapper and trader, he established a homestead here, clearing land and building a log cabin for his family.
The property soon became an important gathering place, later home to Dwight’s first store, boarding house, and post office, all located on the same site where Logging Chain Lodge would eventually operate.
From Summer Lodge to Family Resort
In 1908, the property was purchased by Peter and Mary Ann Newton and they continued to operate the store and post office. In 1915, the business and home was destroyed by fire. They built another tourist home on the property called “Dwight Inn”.
The Newton family sold the property to the Tapley family in the 1940s, at which point it began operating as Logging Chain Lodge, marking the start of four generations of Tapley family involvement. For decades, the lodge welcomed guests to cabins located across from Dwight Beach.
Transition to Public Ownership
In 2025, the Township of Lake of Bays purchased the Logging Chain Lodge property to ensure that the land would remain a public asset.
The acquisition provides an opportunity to preserve the site as a community greenspace while honouring its long history as a gathering place for residents and visitors.
For more than 150 years, this property has played a central role in the life of the Dwight community, first as a general store, post office and boarding house, later as a tourist lodge and now as a future public park.
