Earlier this year, my mother and I visited Discovery Harbour in Penetanguishene, Ontario, a historic naval and military site with a small cemetery and a reputation for ghostly sightings.

The cemetery was at the top of my list, but there was plenty of history to discover along the way.

Discovery Harbour started as a British naval base at Penetanguishene Bay. The location was chosen because of its position on the Great Lakes.¹ Although the bay was identified as a possible site as early as 1793, construction didn’t begin until 1817.¹˒² Ships, sailors, soldiers, civilian workers, and their families all called this remote outpost home.¹

In 1828, a British military garrison moved from Drummond Island to Penetanguishene, joining the naval base.² The Navy left in 1834, but the military stayed until the site closed in 1856.²˒³

The historic buildings and replica ships are still there to explore today. We didn’t have time to see everything, though, since I was eager to find the cemetery.

I asked at the ticket desk where to find it as soon as we arrived. The staff marked it on a map, and a staff member, in full costume, offered to walk my mother and I there. Along the way, he told us a bit about the site’s history.

He also pointed out the replica ships in the harbour and told us that visitors can go aboard them. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to check out the ships, but I enjoyed hearing the history of how the site went from a naval base to a military outpost.

Discovery Harbour. Penetanguishene ON ©2026

Haunted

Staff and visitors have reported strange sightings at Discovery Harbour for years.⁴

Some of the stories include children looking out of a window and an apparition of a woman in a white dress.⁴ Staff also reportedly saw something sitting on a chair inside one of the buildings. When they left and came back, it had disappeared.⁴

Staff eventually gathered these stories together and started offering Ghost Tours.⁴

There have been some strange reports involving photographs, too. One visitor captured what appeared to be a woman in a blue dress reflected in a mirror, while another photo showed a skull-like image on a wall.⁴ Others have captured translucent orbs, and a film crew working on Haunted Huronia reportedly filmed something crossing in front of the camera in the Keating Building.⁴

Old Garrison Hospital Cemetery

The Old Garrison Hospital Cemetery, also known as the Penetanguishene Military Hospital Cemetery, is tucked away between historic buildings, at the bottom of a sloping hill.

There are only two gravestones here, but they commemorate three people.

Something I noticed was that each original gravestone has a second stone beside it, with the same inscription engraved on it. The original stones have weathered quite a bit over the years, making some of the writing difficult to read. The extra stones make it much easier to read the names and epitaphs.

Our guide told us a little about the three people buried here.

The McGarraty brothers, John and Samuel, were privates in the 79th Regiment, travelling along the muddy Penetanguishene Road in June 1831. One brother became ill and was left in the care of the other. When their fellow soldiers returned with help, both brothers had died.¹

The story goes that fever killed one brother, while the other died from the terror of being left alone in the woods.¹

Gravestone of John and Samuel McGarraty. Old Garrison Hospital Cemetery, Discovery Harbour, Penetanguishene ON ©2026

“ERECTED / By their Comrades / to the / MEMORY / of / Privates John and Samuel / McGarraty. Two Brothers / late of the 79^th ReG who / died on their march to / this Post on the 2^nd June / 1831 / John AGED 25 / Sam^l AGED 23 years / In the midst of life came Death”

Unfortunately, our guide wasn’t able to tell us much about Rosana McCabe, only that she died from an illness at just 10 years old and that her father had her buried here.

Gravestone of Rosana McCabe. Old Garrison Hospital Cemetery, Discovery Harbour, Penetanguishene ON ©2026

“ERECTED / by / Michael McCabe / In memory to his Dau / ghter Rosana McCabe / Who departed this / Life on the 3^rd April / 1839 Aged 10 Years / and 97 days / May the / Lord have mercy on her soul”

There may be more people buried here than we know.

Wooden markers rot away, and gravestones can become buried over time, so some graves may have been lost without a trace. These two remaining stones give us a glimpse into the lives of those buried at Discovery Harbour.

Old Garrison Hospital Cemetery, Discovery Harbour, Penetanguishene ON ©2026

After chatting with the staff about my cemetery photography, our conversation turned to some of the other stories connected to the site. They told us about the Ghost Tours and Secrets of Séance events they offer. I haven’t had a chance to experience either one yet, but I’d love to return and hear some of these stories for myself.

Between the cemetery’s history and the reports of strange happenings around the site, Discovery Harbour has given me another reason to plan a return visit.

Thanks for reading!

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References:

1. The History of Discovery Harbour | Discovery Harbour
2. Welcome to your digital tour of Discovery Harbour | Huronia Historical Parks
3. Naval and Military Establishments on Lake Huron | Ontario Plaques
4. Ghosts seem to reside at Discovery Harbour in Penetanguishene | Midland Mirror