Earl and Ethel Joyce bought the sprawling property from the Middleton Brothers in 1948. The property reaches from homes on Bayview Avenue and Woodland Drive to the border of the McRae Provincial Park. It began as a farm with a 2 storey house, a barn and a garage. They purchased it with the intent to develop it into a community.
Initially, the Joyce family lived in the original farm house and ran it as a bed and breakfast/lodge. Where the Joyland Beach Community Centre sits is where the barn was. The house ended up burning down to the foundation. The pasture land was the first to be divided into lots. It was located in the south part of Joyland Beach. The Township ( it was Mara Township) required the lots to be 12,000 square feet and he made them 60 feet wide. The Township required that developers provide common areas and Earl and Ethel chose these properties, canals and walkways with the intent that each property owner would be able to access the lake. Earl turned the garage into a makeshift store where the cottagers could purchase pop, chips etc.
The first purchasers of the properties were all cottagers. The Joyce family also lived in Toronto. They decided that their 2 bedroom cottage was too small for their family and built a home on one of the lots created in the north part of the beach. Their children also bought their properties from the new lots created in this part of Joyland Beach. The Township required larger lots at that time as many places were changing to indoor facilities and they needed space for aseptic systems.
Earl and one of his son-in-laws became partners and formed Joyce Construction and they worked at filling the lots and building cottages.
The Association was formed in 1960 to organize activities for the property owners and care for the common properties. The Township does not have ownership of these properties and they would not be looked after unless the Association cared for them.
As the years went by, many property owners were permanent residents. In the Nineties, the Township did a blanket by-law to re-zone the area from seasonal residential to residential. In 1990, plans came together to begin building our 5,000 square foot community centre entirely on volunteer hours and manpower.
Working together for our neighbourhood and playing together at our community events has made Joyland Beach into a true community and a wonderful place to live or visit.
