HISTORY

The 1600 acres, which today make up Lagoon City, were previously unusable swampland. Roughly 400 years ago the surrounding area was occupied by the Indians of the Huron nation whose capital, Cahiague, was located a few miles north near what is currently the town of Warminster. At that time, the population of the Huron people exceeded 20,000 and was believed to be the largest concentration of Indians in all of North America.

The first white man to set foot on what is today Lagoon City, was Samuel de Champlain. In September of 1615, Champlain led an army of 500 Huron warriors to battle the Iroquois.

The war party left Cahiague and canoed south through the narrows where Lakes Simcoe and Couchiching meet. Travelling south along the north-east shore of Lake Simcoe, they arrived at what is now Lagoon City area and portaged directly east along Old Indian Trail and continuing east about 40 kms to what is today Sturgeon Lake. Champlain and his party then traveled through the Kawarthas to Lake Ontario.

In 1962, Andrew Zsolt, a young civil engineer who ran, at that time, a small development company, Inducon, came upon the Lagoon City site and given its sandy shoreline, he saw potential in developing the area into a resort town with a protected harbour similar to those he had enjoyed in Hungary as a boy. The development of what is now Lagoon City commenced in 1963 with the clearing of 50 acres of brush and 3,000 feet of navigable inland waterways dug.

The first building in Harbour Village, which is located directly across the lagoon from Harbour Inn, was completed with 12 units and would house the construction employees then as summer rental units and later sold as condominiums. The following year the first Lagoon City Marina was completed on what is now the sight of the Harbour Inn & Resort Club.

In the seventies, with Phase I sold out and the newly opened harbour entrance in place, the project began to hit its stride. Ontario's new Condominium Act allowed for the registration and sale of the original "motel" units, which became the building block for the Harbour Village project. This complex became the first resort condominium project in Ontario. Completed in three phases during the summers of 1973, 1974 and 1976, Harbour Village has over 100 condominium units. Also, in 1974, Phase II was approved by the OMB, bringing the total number of single-family dwelling lots to over 450 and adding 12 more condominium project sites.

The Harbour Inn & Resort Club, completed in the summer of 1979, proved to be Lagoon City's most important single project up until that time. This was Canada's first and Ontario's most successful timeshare ownership resort. The indoor spa and tennis facilities were a boon to the local residents who are able to take out memberships. Champlain's Landing dining facilities allow for lagoon-side scenery and the loveliest sunset around.

In January of 1992, the developer went into receivership and the unit owners assumed ownership of the entire property. With a board of directors comprised of five owners, a dedicated management and staff, many renovations and upgrades were planned and implemented with the result that Harbour Inn was presented with RCI's Resort of International Distinction designation in 1998 and subsequent years.

The area, as they say, is "Ontario's Best Kept Secret" but many timeshare owners have purchased property and settled permanently. They now use their Harbour Inn weeks for trading with great success. We have even had a number of exchange quests enjoy their vacation here so much that they have also moved to Lagoon City.

The proximity to Toronto and area, the ambiance and activities in Lagoon City make for the ideal retirement spot. With over 8 miles / 12+ km of inland waterways and your boat at your doorstep you can enjoy Lake Simcoe and boating through the Trent Severn Waterway. In fact, you can even boat right on down to Florida and the Caribbean.