The Town of Gravenhurst had a population in 1991 of 10,030 permanent and 16,672 seasonal residents. Today it is more than double that. Gravenhurst was known as McCabe's Landing by locals in 1862 after its first settler, James McCabe. When applying for a post office the name was changed to Gravenhurst after a town in Bedfordshire, England named in the novel a government official was reading called "Bracebridge Hall" written by Washington Irving.
It is known as the "Gateway" to Muskoka and many families have passed through this town to get to their cottages for years and years.