When you close your eyes and picture life at a Canadian cabin, there's a good chance there's at least one Muskoka chair around the campfire, on the deck, or at the end of the dock.
After all, Muskoka chairs are the iconic chair of Canadian cabin living. Found at cabin and cottages across the country, they're comfortable, attractive, and have the bonus of making you feel like a true handyperson while you put it together with your own two hands (we'll ignore that it's probably a kit from Costco).
Named after the most famous cottage country region in Ontario and ubiquitous across a country defined by its cabin culture, it would be difficult to find something more Canadian. Right?
Well as it turns out the Muskoka chair isn't even from Muskoka - or Canada for that matter!
Muskoka or Adirondack?
The truth is, our beloved Muskoka chair was born south of the border in the early 1900s. The original design was created by Thomas Lee between 1900 and 1903 in Westport, New York – in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains. Lee crafted the chair for his summer home, wanting something sturdy and comfortable for outdoor relaxation.
The chair's journey to fame began when Lee's friend, Harry C. Bunnell, saw the commercial potential and filed a patent for the design in 1904 (with Lee's permission, though he never saw a penny from it).
Bunnell marketed it as the "Westport chair" and found early success selling to tuberculosis sanatoriums of all places, where the wide armrests helped patients sit comfortably while opening up their chests for easier breathing.
The Canadian Rebrand
So how did this undeniably American chair become the Muskoka chair? The transformation happened in the 1980s, when Canadian retailers began marketing the chairs as "Muskoka chairs," to capitalize on the association with Ontario's famous cottage country.
The rebrand was so successful that many Canadians today have no idea about the chair's American roots.
The classic design we know and love – with the distinctive fan-shaped back made of slats – wasn't even part of the original. That innovation came from Irving Wolpin in 1938, adding to the chair's evolution from practical outdoor seating to cottage country icon.
Does It Really Matter?
The Muskoka chair may have been born in the Adirondacks, it's been thoroughly adopted into Canadian cabin culture.
Whether you call it an Adirondack chair or a Muskoka chair probably depends more on which side of the border you're on than anything else. But sitting in one at sunset, cold beverage in hand, listening to the sounds of nature? That experience is universally perfect – no passport required.
So go ahead, keep calling it a Muskoka chair. After more than 40 years of Canadian cottage memories, it's earned its honourary citizenship.
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