Midland is located on the southern end of Georgian Bay's 30,000 Islands about ninety miles north of Toronto.Huronia was named for the Huron Nation and consists of the areas around southeastern Georgian Bay which include Midland and Penetanguishene. The area was visited by French Jesuits traveling with the Voyageurs to the Wye River in 1639. They were welcomed by the Huron tribe who traded furs and skins for metal goods and clothing from France. They built a settlement named Fort Ste. Marie which thrived for ten years until it was burned to the ground in 1649 by the Jesuits themselves after repeated attacks form Iroquois who were in league with the English who wanted the French share of the fur trade in North America. Some of the priests were martyred. The Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons site was discovered in 1947, excavated and rebuilt to its original form by archeologists from the University of Western Ontario.The Jesuits attempted a second site on St. Joseph's Island, currently Christian Island, and named it Sainte Marie II. They carried many of their goods by raft to this second site. After a winter of terrible hardship and starvation, the Jesuits decided to abandon their mission and returned to Quebec in 1650. Christian Island was later declared a native reservation by the Canadian government.In 1871 a group of the principal shareholders of the Midland Railway, headed by Adolph Hugel, chose this location as the northern terminus of their line which they ran from Port Hope to Beaverton. The town site was surveyed in 1872-73. The railway line was completed in 1879 and soon attracted settlers to the area. The new community, Midland, achieved its early growth through shipping and the lumber and grain trade.In and around the center of Midland there are a number of murals most of which were painted by now deceased artist Fred Lenz.
