Bethune Memorial House National Historic Site
Bethune Memorial House
The 1890 birthplace of Norman Bethune, the home of a Presbyterian minister. It recreates 19th-century domestic life and presents his experiences in Spain and China.
The Bethune Memorial House is on John Street in Gravenhurst. It is a Victorian wooden house built in 1880, where Dr. Norman Bethune was born in 1890. The house is managed by Parks Canada. The ground floor is furnished as it appeared in the 1890s. The neighboring visitor centre presents his career in medicine, his invention of surgical instruments, his service in the Spanish Civil War, and his life in China, where he treated wounded soldiers in the Jin-Cha-Ji border region and died at his post, in Chinese, English, and French. It is a popular stop for many Chinese visitors. It is open in summer and autumn and charges a small admission fee. A visit takes about an hour, and it can be combined with Muskoka Wharf on the same day, about 1.5 km away.
Opening hours
Seasonal, about 10:00–16:00
Nearby sights
- Muskoka Discovery Centre
- Muskoka Wharf & RMS Segwun
- Santa's Village
- Lake Muskoka
- Bracebridge Falls
- Wilson's Falls
- Torrance Barrens Dark-Sky Preserve
- Hardy Lake Provincial Park