Hurons-Wendat
As early as AD 800, the Wyandot people settled in semi-permanent villages in the area. The young French translator, Étienne Brûlé, was the first European to set foot in the Penetanguishene area, some time between 1610 and 1614. He died in 1633 in Toanche, just across the bay from the modern town of Penetanguishene.