After the Treaty of 1862, Manitoulin Island was open for white settlement. Small towns began to emerge from the wilderness, and hotels were developed to provide lodgings for prospective land purchasers. This led to the formation of the town Gore Bay. It was incorporated as a town on 7 April 1890. Boats were regularly traveling from
Sault Ste. Marie,
Collingwood, and
Owen Sound; establishing regular ports of call on Manitoulin Island, specifically Gore Bay, and prospering hotels due to increased traffic. The new hotel industry in Gore Bay welcomed commercial travellers, fishermen, doctors, lumbermen and tourists. Three hotels served Gore Bay for many years: • The Atlantic Hotel • The Campbell House, located on the harbour • The Ocean House and Pacific Hotel Community life in Gore Bay has always been closely connected to water, in fact before roads were built, water was the only means available for travellers to get to the port of Gore Bay by boat. Boats would arrive and leave town with goods until the late 1950s, meaning the population was also quite low in the town's early years. == Demographics ==