Back in 1857 when no roads led to the Parry Sound area, lumber cut from the forests would be floated down the Seguin River where it would be loaded aboard schooners in the Georgian Bay.

There were two problems with this process however. The first was that the lumber could only be moved during the summer and the hardwood lumber was too heavy to be floated down the river.

To solve this problem mills simply began to emerge alongside the railway. This allowed for the lumber to be hauled by sleigh during the winter and sent out via the railway. Spur lines would connect the mills to the CP Railway line.

William Francis Boak was a Toronto businessman who dealt in lumber. In 1902 he started the Skeleton Lake Lumber Company out of Muskoka and the Lake Rosseau Company just north of Parry Sound. Between the two companies, Boak would have an ample amount of lumber in his yards.

The Muskoka mill was destroyed by fire in 1908 leaving only the Lake Rosseau Company in business. Lake Rosseau was operated by Boak's son, William. It was one mile north of the mill that a station and siding was built and in 1910 a post office was added to the site. The name of the site would be Boakview Mills. Workers homes and a school for their children was built in the townsite.

The town slowly fell in population when the mill closed in the 1940's and is now used only seasonally. In 1948 the post office closed.

The railway station foundation can be found 19.3 miles from the Parry Sound station (at mile 19.3).

Location: From the area of Parry Sound, take highway 124 and turn onto Bunny Trail (north) for approximately 12 km until you reach Boakview Road. When you reach Boakview Road, turn right to reach the tracks. The station and farming area was here. To reach the mill and workers homes, you'll need to take an unmarked cottage road which is a kilometre south.