Just east of the intersection of Hwyy 11 at Exit 175 you will find the beginning of the Road to Ryde. The celebration of 135 years in Ryde Township took place August 16, 2014. Heritage Day Aug 15, 2015.
Property registered to Samuel Crossfield on May 22, 1882. He sold pine and spruce for lumber until July 2, 1891. Still an active farm with pasturing beef cattle. Quilt not yet in place.
This 40 x 60 bank barn was built in the 1890’s with a stone foundation to house horses and cattle.
Building was built in 2011 as a saw mill and for woodworking.
This bank barn was moved from Lewisham in the 1920’s. The stone basement of the barn is part of the original house that was built on the land.
Methodist wooden church bought from Eleanor Woollings in 1894. Floors are pine with oak tongue and groove walls and ceilings. Today it is the Harmony United Church with summer services.
This is a new barn quilt location on our Ryde map.
The history of this property is the same as 1083 Barkway Road and was originally owned by the same family.
Bank barn was built approximately 1900 by Richard Rusk. The wooden structure was lifted and a new wall was built underneath, likely completed in 1909.
Built around 1900 this is the first brick house in Barkway and called The Willows. Wm. Lowe and his son Jack built it and hauled all the bricks by horse and cart from Bracebridge, 17 miles away.
Home was built in 1973 and the family are collectors of Cockshutt antique tractors. They are also members of the Muskoka Pioneer Power Association.1235 Barkway Road
Crown land was registered to John Farley in September 1875. Farmed by the Rebman family from 1920 to 1987. Presently an active horse farm and arena.
Originally a Methodist church built in 1890. In 1965 the church was sold and is now The Church of the Holy Manger, Anglican.
Samuel Downey built the house and barn around 1905. Original wood shed attached to house and barn were saved from fire and remain today. Best viewed from Barkway Road
Church was built in1882. The window sills are approximately a foot in depth with shiplap siding on the interior and exterior.
Farm bought by the Merkley family in 1906 and is retained by the same family. Clay bank barn is post and beam frame with wooden boards; present basement built in 1946. Continues to have horses and hay is harvested.
Part of property has been used for farm land since the 1800’s.
Land registered in 1880. The barn was built in a classic mortise and tenon construction with round wooden pegs holding the main joints together. The beams are mostly hemlock.
This is a bank barn built in the 1800’s.
The Ryde Community Centre is located in the former Ryde Public School. The quilt square is an original design by Brenda Cooper "Schoolhouse in the Pines".
This church was built in 1977. In 1979 the name was changed to Ryde Centennial Free Methodist Church.
Sunny Brae schoolhouse framed and built in 1904 by Marshall Davy. It was one of the few rural schools in Muskoka that had separate entrances for boys and girls. Quilt not yet mounted.
Active neighbourhood store, serving breakfast. Opened in the 1940’s and continuing through the early 1970’s as Summerland Dance Hall with a full house every Saturday night.
These quilt squares commemorate the former Housey's Rapids Store and
Neighbourhood Club. View twisting star quilt from bridge at bottom of hill and general store quilt
square at the top of the hill.
This bank barn was constructed in the late 1800’s of hemlock, pine and tamarack wood. The foundation is made of stone and cement.
Società Unita (The United Society) is a Roman Catholic mission comprised of families, priests and religious men and women, working to form a more compassionate and harmonious society.
The End (or the other beginning) of the Ryde Barn Quilt Trail
Thomas James Cooper (1836-1918) and his wife Emma (1837-1923) arrived from Kent, England in 1871 with three small children, to an isolated area south of Ryde and built a primitive cabin. Read more
In 1876 a house and general store was built by the Black River.
The Ryde Barn Quilt Trail is located in the former Ryde Township, now part of the town of the Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada. The quilts were erected in 2014 to commemorate 135 years of settlement in Ryde. Some buildings are historic, some are new; all have a story to share.
For more information, please visit www.rydecommunityco-op.com
“History of Ryde Township” book and Ryde History DVDs, Click here.
For a copy of our Printable Map, Click here. (some sites have been added that will not show on the Map.)
For a copy of our Downloadable Tour Guide, Click here. (some quilt sites have been added since the guide was produced and therefore do not show on the Guide.)
