Those unfamiliar with Magnetawan’s early history may be wondering why a wooden replica of the Wenonah steamship sits at the Village Green next to the Magnetawan River.
The wood carving is about seven-feet long and sits on a wooden wave.
It was made by world champion chainsaw wood carver Jake Rhodes of Burk’s Falls.
Magnetawan Mayor Sam Dunnett says some people have been curious about the sculpture until they are told of its significance.
“It was instrumental in opening up the area, there’s no question about that,” Dunnett said. “It brought everything from Burk’s Falls and that included passengers, goods and the mail."
This was 1866, the days when horses and buggies travelled the trails and decades before motor vehicles appeared.
The Wenonah also towed logs for the logging companies and some believe the steamship was the first steamship to travel on the Magnetawan River north of Muskoka.
“It’s beautiful and adds to the Village Green,” Dunnett said of the carving.
“The response from the public has been fantastic. It will be a permanent fixture there for the next 100 to 200 years. And it’s an appropriate place for it, right next to the Magnetawan River.”
Dunnett says in the spring a plaque detailing the history of the Wenonah will be added at the Village Green site.
The municipality commissioned Rhodes to build the Wenonah.
Rhodes worked from old pictures of the steamship but the quality wasn’t very good and he needed better photos of other steamships to achieve an approximate look for the Wenonah.
The original design called for the Wenonah to be the only piece at the site, but Rhodes used his creative juices to add more punch to the final product.
“I decided to rest it on a large wave so the Wenonah looks like it’s riding on it,” Rhodes said.
“Doing this made the final piece a little taller.”
Both the ship and wave are made from white pine harvested from the area and is Rhodes’ personal preference of what type of wood to use in his carvings.
The Wenonah is made from one log with smaller pieces of wood added to it on the top.
However, Rhodes wanted a certain look to the wave and the only way he was going to achieve that vision was with two logs glued together.
“That gave me enough size to work with,” he said.
The result is a wave that is cresting with the Wenonah perching upwards on it.
Rhodes’ wood carvings normally depict wildlife so creating the Wenonah needed a different approach.
“This was a lot more different because there were a lot of straight lines and symmetry with the boat,” Rhodes said.
“Straight lines are sometimes tricky with the chainsaw. It was a challenge. The water and wave parts were more up my alley because they didn’t have to be symmetrical or in a straight line.”
Rhodes built the sculpture at his shop, Northern Rhodes Artistry in Wood, in Burk’s Falls then transported it to the Village Green.
To build the Wenonah and wave, Rhodes cut the white pine with his chainsaw then he let it dry and next used a torch to burn the wood.
“Doing a burn is an old method to preserve wood,” Rhodes said.
Before painting the finished carving with oil-based paints and stains, Rhodes gave the steamship and wave a final sanding. The last touch was two to three coats of varnish to protect the piece from the weather.
From start to finish, the Wenonah took Rhodes about two-and-a-half weeks.
Rhodes connected with Magnetawan as a result of a Facebook search that Laura Brandt, the municipality’s deputy clerk, conducted. A few years ago, he had a shop in Dorset which Brandt browsed and Brandt then saw him at an event with his wildlife carvings.
“I thought his carvings were great,” Brandt said.
“So, we invited Jake to our Family Day weekend two years ago along with some vendors where he did chainsaw demonstrations for the public,” Brandt said.
“He’s been here twice and we’re inviting him again for our 2025 Family Day weekend.”
Rhodes carved seven wildlife carvings at the Family Day events and donated them to the municipality.
Brandt says the four carvings from the first time Rhodes appeared in Magnetawan were given to the local Habitat for Humanity chapter. The carvings were of a bear, a bear lying down, a fox, and a wolf.
The local chapter raffled off each carving and raised $5,000 for the house it was building.
This year, Rhodes made a cardinal, fox and bear and the municipality gave the donated pieces to the local library, Magnetawan Horticultural Society, and the Trinity United Church to carry out programs and fundraise.
All the Family Day demonstration carvings have a maximum 24-inch height.
Brandt posted images of the finished Wenonah carving on the municipality’s Facebook page in addition to Instagram and the town’s website.
“People have commented how beautiful it looks,” Brandt said.
“It helps promote our community. People have been taking selfies with it at the Village Green. One person took a picture of it and shared it on their Facebook page and people started asking questions about it.”
The Wenonah installation represents the end of a multi-year downtown beautification project Magnetawan started a few years ago.
Thanks to a Rural Economic Development (RED) federal grant, which covers 30 per cent of the costs, the municipality created four beautification projects.
The first three were wall murals at different points in the community with the Wenonah being the sole 3D piece.
See: Mom and son team up on Magnetawan murals
Brandt says residents and tourists haven’t seen the end of Magnetawan’s beautification efforts.
Brandt says RED will be opening more grant application opportunities early in the new year and she’ll be ready to apply for more art installation funding to cover future projects.
Rocco Frangione is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter with Almaguin News. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
