Brockville

In this episode of the I Can't Sleep Podcast, fall asleep learning about Brockville, Ontario, Canada. While it sounds like a great place to live or vacation; and yes, many famous people have come from there; learning about it in a slow, insipid manner will surely knock you out tonight. Happy sleeping!

Transcript

Welcome to the I Can't Sleep podcast,

Where I read random articles from across the web to bore you to sleep with my soothing voice.

I'm your host Benjamin Boster.

Today's episode is from a Wikipedia article titled Brockville.

Brockville,

Formerly Elizabethtown,

Is a city in eastern Ontario,

Canada in the Thousand Islands region.

Although it is the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville,

It is politically independent of the county.

It is included with Leeds and Grenville for census purposes only.

Known as the City of the Thousand Islands,

Brockville is located on the north shore of the St.

Lawrence River,

About halfway between Kingston to the west and Cornwall to the east.

It is 115 kilometers south of the national capital,

Ottawa.

Brockville faces the village of Morristown,

New York,

On the south side of the river.

Brockville is situated on land that was inhabited by the St.

Lawrence Iroquoians and later by the Oswagachee people.

Brockville is one of Ontario's oldest communities established by Loyalist settlers and is named after the British General Sir Isaac Brock.

Tourist attractions in Brockville include the Brockville Tunnel,

Fulford Place,

And the Aquatarium.

Human inhabitation of the upper St.

Lawrence River dates at least to the late Middle Woodland period by the Point Peninsula people.

Iron oxide pictographs on rock faces have been documented on the Fulford property in Brockville and at Hillcrest,

West of Brockville.

From around 1450 until sometime in the 1500s,

The St.

Lawrence Iroquoians established a cluster of palisaded agricultural villages in the vicinity of Brockville and Prescott,

The Roebuck site being the best known.

By 1751,

The Oswagachee people had occupied the north shore of the St.

Lawrence between Toneato Creek,

Now known as Jones Creek in Thousand Islands National Park,

And the Long Salt.

After negotiations with the British,

They withdrew from the frontage on the north shore of the St.

Lawrence in 1784,

Resettling at what is now Lisbon,

New York.

This area of Ontario was first settled by English speakers in 1784 when thousands of American refugees arrived from the American colonies after the American Revolutionary War.

They were later called United Empire loyalists because of their continued allegiance to King George III.

The struggle between Britain and the Thirteen Colonies occurred in the years 1776 to 1783 and seriously divided loyalties among people in some colonies such as New York and Vermont.

In many areas,

Traders and merchants,

Especially in the coastal cities or the northern border regions,

Had stronger business ties and allegiance to the crown than did the frontiersmen of the interior.

During the Six-Year War,

Which ended with the capitulation of the British in 1782,

Many colonists who remained loyal to the crown were frequently subject to harsh reprisals and unfair dispositions of their property by their countrymen.

Many loyalists chose to flee north to the British colony of Quebec.

Great Britain opened the western region of Canada,

First known as Upper Canada and now Ontario,

Purchasing land from First Nations to allocate to the mostly English-speaking loyalists in compensation for their losses and helping them with some supplies as they founded new settlements.

The first years were very harsh as they struggled on the frontier.

Some exiles returned to the United States.

The St.

Lawrence River got its name from explorer Jacques Cartier's arrival in the Gulf on August 10,

1535,

The feast day of the martyred Roman Christian St.

Lawrence.

In 1785,

The first loyalist to take up land where Brockville is now located was William Buell,

Sr.

,

1751 to 1832,

An ensign disbanded from the King's Rangers from the state of New York.

Residents commonly called the first settlement Buell's Bay.

Around 1810,

Government officials of Upper Canada assigned the name Elizabethtown for the developing village.

During mid-1812,

The Honorary Charles Jones and other leading residents of the village,

Then known by the misleading name Elizabethtown,

Started to refer to the village as Brockville in their correspondence.

The commanding British general in Upper Canada and temporary administrator of the province was Major General Isaac Brock.

He was celebrated as the hero and savior of Upper Canada because of his recent success in securing the surrender by Americans of Fort Detroit during the first months of the War of 1812.

After the surrender of Fort Detroit,

General Brock was next involved in other battles on the Niagara Peninsula.

On October 13,

1812,

He was fatally wounded while leading troops up the heights near the village of Queenston,

Then temporarily held by American militia.

General Brock had learned of the honor being offered by the residents of Elizabethtown,

But had no chance to give it his official blessing before his death.

It took quite a few years for provincial officials to officially accept the new name,

Though most residents used it.

A raid on Elizabethtown occurred on the early morning of February 7,

1813,

When Benjamin Forces and 200 of his American forces crossed the frozen St.

Lawrence River,

Occupied the settlement,

Seized military and public stores,

Freed American prisoners,

And captured local militia soldiers and leading citizens.

By 1830,

The population of Brockville exceeded 1,

000.

This entitled it to be represented by its own elected member in the House of Assembly.

Henry Jones,

The village postmaster,

Was elected in October 1830 to the 11th Parliament of the province.

Brockville became Ontario's first incorporated self-governing town on January 28,

1832,

Two years before the town of Toronto.

By means of the Brockville Police Act passed by the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada,

Brockville was granted the right to govern its own affairs,

Pass laws,

And raise taxes.

The first elections for the new Board of Police were held on April 2,

1832,

When four male citizens were elected to the Police Board.

These four in turn chose a fifth member,

Daniel Jones,

Who became the first Police Board President or Mayor of Brockville.

In March 1836,

He became the first native Upper Canadian to receive a knighthood for services to the Crown.

By 1846,

The population was 2,

111,

And there were many buildings made of stone and brick.

There was a county courthouse and jail,

Six churches or chapels,

And a steamboat pier for travel to and from Montreal and Kingston.

Two newspapers were published,

There were two bank agencies,

And the post office received mail daily.

Several court and government departments had offices here.

The first industries consisted of one gristmill,

Four tanneries,

Two ashoreys,

And four wagon makers,

In addition to tradesmen of various types.

Later in the 19th century,

The town developed as a local center of industry,

Including shipbuilding,

Saddleries,

Tanneries,

Tinsmiths,

A foundry,

A brewery,

And several hotels.

By 1854,

A patent medicine industry had sprung up in Brockville and in Morristown,

New York,

Across the St.

Lawrence River.

Featuring such products as Dr.

Morse's Indian root pills,

Dr.

McKenzie's worm tablets,

And later Dr.

Williams' pink pills for pale people.

In 1855,

Brockville was chosen as a divisional point of the new Grand Trunk Railway between Montreal and Toronto.

This contributed to its growth as it could offer jobs in railway maintenance and related fields.

At the same time,

The north-south line of the Brockville and Ottawa Railway was built to join the timber trade of the Ottawa Valley with the St.

Lawrence River ship route.

A well-engineered tunnel for this railway was dug and blasted underneath the middle of Brockville.

Completed in December 1860,

The Brockville Tunnel was the first railway tunnel built in Canada.

Brockville and many other towns in Canada West were targets of the threatened Fenian invasion after the American Civil War ended in 1865.

In June 1866,

The Irish-American Brotherhood of Fenians invaded Canada.

They launched raids across the Niagara River into Canada West,

Ontario,

And from Vermont into Canada East,

Quebec.

Canadian Prime Minister John A.

Macdonald called upon the volunteer militia companies in every town to protect Canada.

The Brockville Infantry Company and the Brockville Rifle Company,

Now the Brockville Rifles,

Were mobilized.

The unsuccessful Fenian raids were a catalyst that contributed to the creation of the new Confederated Canada in 1867.

By 1869,

Brockville had a population of 5,

000 and a passenger station on the Grand Trunk Railway.

It was the county town of the United Counties of Leeds in Grenville and a port of entry.

Steamboats stopped in Brockville daily while plying among Montreal,

Kingston,

Toronto,

And Hamilton.

The Brockville and Ottawa Railway connected Brockville with Smiths Falls,

Perth,

Almonte,

Carleton Place,

And Sandy Point.

During the summer,

A steam ferry plied every half hour between Brockville and Morristown,

New York.

In 1962,

Brockville was granted official status as a city.

Its coat of arms featured a beehive surrounded by a golden chain and bears the motto,

Industria Intelligentsia Prosperitas.

This is an official heraldic design.

Brockville is one of the few Canadian cities to have a recognized heraldic flag.

Brockville experiences a humid continental climate.

The highest temperature ever recorded in Brockville was 39.

4 degrees Celsius,

102.

9 degrees Fahrenheit on July 31st,

1917,

And June 4th,

1919.

The coldest temperature ever recorded was negative 38.

3 degrees Celsius,

Negative 36 degrees Fahrenheit on February 4th,

1886,

And January 28th,

1925.

Brockville is midway between Toronto and Montreal,

340 kilometers or 210 miles northeast of Toronto,

And 210 kilometers,

130 miles southwest of Montreal,

And less than one hour from Ottawa.

Highway 401 runs through Brockville,

With exits at Leeds and Grenville County Road 29 and North Augusta Road.

There are several daily via rail connections at Brockville Station to Montreal,

Toronto,

And Ottawa along the corridor.

The town has a municipal airport,

Brockville Regional Tackaberry Airport,

And the neighboring Elizabethtown-Kittley Township.

The Ottawa-McDonald Cartier International Airport is approximately 100 kilometers away.

The Thousand Islands Bridge and the Ogdensburg-Presscote International Bridge,

Both of which cross the St.

Lawrence River into New York,

Are 35 kilometers or 22 miles southwest and 25 kilometers or 16 miles northeast from Brockville,

Respectively.

Brockville Transit is the city-operated public transit system,

Which covers the urban area,

Providing three regular scheduled bus routes and paratransit services from Monday to Saturday.

Brockville is home to several large industrial manufacturers.

3M operates four factories in Brockville,

Manufacturing tape and occupational health and safety products.

Procter and Gamble manufacture dryer sheets and cleaning products from their brands Bounce and Swiffer,

Respectively,

Employing 600 people.

However,

Operations began to slow down in 2017 until the closure of the plant in 2020 and all operations of the plant being moved to locations in West Virginia.

In January 2022,

The Canadian food company Le Crec,

A brand known for making dessert products,

Announced it would be moving into the vacant P&G plant.

Other industries including ceiling fan manufacturer Canarm,

Pharmaceutical manufacturer Trillium Canada,

And the oil blending plant of Shell Canada.

Canadian retailer Giant Tiger has also opened a distribution center for frozen food in Brockville.

Some area residents are employed at the Invista Canada facility,

Formerly DuPont Canada Ltd.

,

In Maitland,

Just east of Brockville.

Brockville is also the main administrative,

Health care,

And commercial center for Leeds-Grenville County.

The Upper Canada District School Board has its headquarters in Brockville.

The Brockville General Hospital has completed a major expansion project.

The Brockville Mental Health Center is located east of Brockville.

In the 2021 census of population conducted by Statistics Canada,

Brockville had a population of 22,

116 living in 10,

647 of its 11,

088 total private dwellings,

A change of 2.

5% from its 2016 population of 21,

569.

With a land area of 20.

91 km2,

8.

07 sq.

Miles,

It had a population density of 1,

057.

7 per km2 or 2,

739.

4 per sq.

Mile in 2021.

Brockville,

Known as the City of the Thousand Islands,

Is located on the shore of the St.

Lawrence River.

The city revitalized its downtown area,

Enhancing a waterfront open to the public with parks and walking trails,

And numerous shopping locations are found throughout the city.

The city is an outdoor museum of architecture,

With hundreds of fine buildings on its streets from all historical periods.

The Aquatarium at Tall Ships Landing operates the Tourism Office or Visitor Information Center at 6 Broad Street,

Along with a small outlet on Blockhouse Island during the summer season.

Both are close to the south end of the Brockville Tunnel,

Canada's first railway tunnel.

Closed in 1970,

It was acquired by Brockville in 1982,

And the tunnel reopened in August 2017 as an LED illuminated pedestrian tunnel with music.

The Aquatarium is an interactive discovery center about the ecology and history of the Thousand Islands region,

Opened in March 2016.

It is located at the bottom of Broad Street next to the Tall Ships Landing,

A condominium project.

Both overlook the St.

Lawrence River.

The classically designed Brockville Courthouse,

Built in 1842-43 and set in its surrounding Central Courthouse Square,

Stands as the most impressive of all Brockville's 19th century architectural structures.

It was designed by Toronto architect John G.

Howard.

Howard is known to have designed three buildings in Brockville.

The Fulford Place House Museum was built in 1899-1901 for Senator George Taylor Fulford at 287 King Street,

East in Brockville's east end.

His palatial home was built on his success in marketing patent medicines,

Including Dr.

Williams' pink pills for pale people around the world.

He was one of the area's richest industrialists before his death in 1905.

The house,

Owned and operated by the Ontario Heritage Trust,

Is open for public tours on a seasonal schedule.

The Brockville Museum,

Situated in the historic downtown core at 5 Henry Street,

Features exhibits and artifacts related to Brockville's rich history and the city's development as a waterfront community.

The John H.

Fulford Memorial Fountain was erected in 1917.

Thousand Islands Cruises out of Brockville are offered by Thousand Islands and Seaway Cruises,

Offering scenic cruises on the St.

Lawrence River.

The Brockville area is the launching point for underwater wreck diving on sunken ships discovered in the St.

Lawrence River,

And a number of dive operators take divers to these sites.

In 2014,

Brockville started a collaboration with SOS,

Save Ontario Shipwrecks,

To launch an underwater sculpture park off of Centene Park.

New sculptures are added annually.

Since the early 1990s,

Underwater visibility has increased due to effects of the invasive species zebra mussels.

Brockville was named one of Canada's safest communities by the World Health Organization.

Brockville's boating resources include a municipal harbor and public marina,

A yacht club,

And several commercial marinas.

Upstream is the Brockville-owned Islands Group,

Which contains some city island parks,

As well as an island park belonging to the Thousand Islands National Park System.

Brockville is at the downstream end of the Thousand Islands region,

Which extends to Kingston,

Ontario,

At the mouth of the St.

Lawrence River at Lake Ontario,

80 kilometers or 50 miles away.

The next closest commercial boating facilities are each about a half-day boat trip away,

At displacement speeds.

Downstream at Prescott,

Ontario,

And upstream at Rockport,

Ontario.

The city has several music,

Art,

And dance organizations,

Such as the Brockville Artist Studio Association,

The Brockville Community Choir,

The Brockville Concert Association,

The Brockville Musicians Association,

The Brockville Operatic Society,

The Brockville Theatre Guild,

The Uppity Improv Society,

The City of Brockville Pipes and Drums,

And the Thousand Islanders Chorus.

The Brockville Concert Band arises from a long tradition of community and military bands in Brockville.

Civic bands provided entertainment at public venues,

Such as community picnics and outdoor skating rinks.

The Brockville Rifles Reserve Band entertained on the green in the 1930s and 40s.

Military band members returning from the Second World War formed the Brockville Civic Band,

Reorganized as the Brockville Concert Band in 1974.

It inherited a musical tradition and sheet music from civic and military bands,

Dating back to the turn of the 20th century.

The Brockville Concert Band used to play a series of summer concerts every second Tuesday in Hardy Park in Brockville,

Within view of the St.

Lawrence River.

The band also plays for various civic functions and entertains at charitable fundraising events.

The band's musical director and conductor is now co-conducted by Judy Quick and Christopher Coyier.

St.

Lawrence College in Brockville is home to the Music Theatre Performance Program,

Which trains students to enter the professional world of musical theatre.

SLC Stage produces three professional quality musicals each season at the Brockville Arts Center.

The Brockville Arts Center is a 700 seat theatre venue with a full season of entertainment offerings.

Several festivals occur each year.

The city's main daily newspaper is the Recorder and Times.

A free monthly magazine called Snapped Thousand Islands is also available around the city.

The Brockville youth basketball teams,

The Brockville Blues and the Brockville Blazers,

Provide basketball coaching and training for boys and girls across the area.

The Blues and Blazers have repeatedly placed in the Ontario Basketball Association OBA championships.

A female basketball player,

Stacey Dales,

A graduate of Thousand Islands Secondary School,

Has gone on to play for the University of Oklahoma Sooners,

Coming in a close second for the NCAA title in her graduating year.

She also has the highest Canadian women's draft pick for the WNBA,

Where she has played for the Washington Mystics in Chicago Sky.

She has worked for ESPN and the NFL Network.

Several local clubs,

Organizations,

And high schools have achieved success on provincial,

National,

And international levels,

Such as the Brockville Rowing Club.

Thousand Islands Secondary School is home to a strong high school track and field and cross-country running program.

The Pirates have captured numerous Canadian championships and have won five straight overall provincial OFSAA Ontario championships in track and field and cross-country running.

In an association of over 1,

000 schools since 2004,

With over 15 former students on NCAA athletic track and field scholarships in the United States,

TISS has been awarded over $1 million in student athletic scholarships.

The TISS team travels all over North America,

Including Ohio,

Florida,

New Hampshire,

And British Columbia,

Consistently winning major international championships.

The accomplishments of the school have inspired the community to construct a $1.

5 million athletic center at the school.

The Brockville Braves are a Tier 1 Junior A ice hockey team representing Brockville.

They are a part of the Central Junior A Hockey League.

Founded in 1963,

The Brockville Braves are the second oldest team that has never ceased operation in CJHL history,

Second only to Pembroke.

In 1979,

The team was the focus of national attention when they were left homeless due to their arena collapsing.

This did not stop the Braves though,

Playing their home games out of Cardinal and Rockland,

Ontario.

The Braves did not miss a beat.

It took until 1986 for the Brockville Braves to win a CJHL championship.

They clinched the Bogart Cup on a late April night,

Defeating their nemesis Pembroke Lumberkings 8-7 in the finals.

Braves goalie Jacques Breaux was the hero,

As with 22 seconds to go in the game,

Turned away a penalty shot by the league's all-time leading scorers Luke Chabot.

Although losing to Orillia Ontario in the Ontario playdowns,

The team was a memorable one.

Notable members of this team were all-time Braves leading scorer Larry Mitchell,

Breaux,

Paul Dunford,

Tim Dubas,

Dan Numikoski,

Steve Rockwall,

Chad Badaway,

And Rob White.

Since that championship,

The team has experienced more bad times than good.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s,

The Braves failed to make the playoffs multiple times.

In 1997,

Times began to change for the better again.

The Braves were given the duty of hosting the Fred Page Cup,

The Eastern Canadian Junior A championship.

This allowed their team to compete in the event and give them the experience they needed for the next season.

The Braves regained their league title in 1998,

Bringing the club around full circle.

The team also hosted and won the 2010 Fred Page Cup by defeating the Pembroke Lumber Kings 5-1.

The Braves are the second host team to win since the 1998-99 Charlottetown Abbeys,

Who defeated the CCHL's Hawksbury Hawks 2-0 at the Charlottetown Civic Centre.

Star graduates Brian Murray,

Barries Bay,

Ontario,

Mike Dowst,

Brockville,

Ontario,

And Guy Combe,

Iroquois Falls,

Ontario,

Of the Brockville Braves won the 2001 NCAA National Championship with the Plattsburgh Cardinals versus the RIT Tigers.

In November 2017,

At Rotary Park,

They dug the grounds and built their new skating rink with bathroom and change rooms.

On January 9th,

2020,

They named the building after P&G,

So the name of this skating rink is P&G Pavilion,

As P&G Brockville is their biggest sponsor.

Brockville Bunnies Youth Baseball program is also an elite level program that operates out of this small city.

With provincial championships and several pro and Olympic graduates.

Brockville was home to a minor league baseball team that competed in the Canadian American League in 1936 and 1937,

Known as the Brockville Pirates for one season,

And then as the Brockville Blues.

There are several golf courses in the Brockville area for a variety of skill levels.

Sunnydale Golf is a par-3 course designed for an easy going round.

The Brockville Country Club poses greater difficulty to the average golfer.

The membership comprises an older demographic and is semi-private.

The course is open to green fees,

However certain playing restrictions are imposed.

The Brockville Ontario Speedway,

The BOS,

Is a clay oval track just north of the city on Highway 29 in Forreston.

The track races every Saturday night from May to September.

Classes that race every week include rookies,

Street stock,

Sportsmen,

Modified,

And vintage.

The Brockville Privateers RFC was formed in 1993,

Re-establishing a local rugby club in the area.

Rugby has been played in Brockville area as far back as 1899.

The original Brockville Rugby Football Club eventually became part of Brockville Collegiate Institute,

BCI.

Brockville Rugby now includes multiple men's and women's teams,

Along with a strong junior-age grade program.

The Upper Canada Swim Club,

The River Otters,

Runs competitive teams for children and young adults.

The YMCA Brockville runs competitive teams for children and young adults.

Brockville has a community college,

Four high schools,

And several elementary schools.

St.

Lawrence College,

Brockville campus,

Has an enrollment of around 800.

St.

Lawrence College was recently ranked number one in Ontario for graduate employment rate.

Académie Catholique Ange-Gabrielle is a French Catholic school,

Grades JK through 12,

And has an enrollment of approximately 282 students.

Brockville Collegiate Institute has an enrollment of approximately 560,

And has strong academic,

Theater,

And sports programs.

St.

Mary Catholic High School is the English Catholic school,

And has around 600 students.

The Fulford Academy is a private boarding school for international students,

Grades 7 to 10.

Thousand Island Secondary School has an enrollment of approximately 1,

000,

And is both a university and college preparatory school,

With strong technology facilities.

It is also known for its athletic programs,

Including track and field,

Women's basketball,

Men's soccer,

And cross-country running.

Public elementary schools in the city include Commonwealth Public School,

Westminster Public School,

Toniatta Public School,

And Vanier Public School.

The Catholic English elementary schools are St.

Francis Xavier,

St.

John Bosco,

And James L.

Jordan.

Académie Catholique Ange-Gabrielle is a French-language Catholic school,

Serving JK through grade 12.

Heritage Community Christian School,

20 minutes from downtown Brockville,

Is a privately funded Christian school offering preschool through grade 8 in a Christian environment.

Notable people Brad Abraham,

Screenwriter of Stonehenge Apocalypse and Robocop Prime Directives,

Graduate of Brockville Collegiate Institute.

George Chaffee,

Civil engineer and urban planner,

Founder of Ontario,

California,

A sister city of Brockville.

William Chaffee,

Civil engineer and urban planner,

Brother of George Chaffee.

Brian Chapman,

AHL all-star.

William Everett Chipman,

Wisconsin state senator.

Burke Dales,

CFL punter,

Player with Calgary Stampeders.

Stacey Dales,

WNBA all-star and ESPN broadcaster.

Joan Erickson,

Author,

Educator,

Craftsperson,

And dance ethnographer,

Wife of Eric Erickson.

Todd Gill,

NHL player and owner of the CJHL Brockville Braves.

Ben Hutton,

Ice hockey player for the Vegas Golden Knights.

Walter William Lachance,

Architect and author in the early 20th century.

Randy LaDucer,

NHL player and coach.

Hank Lammons,

Professional hockey player.

Cyril Leder,

Ottawa Senators hockey team president.

Robert Henry Lindsay,

Painter.

John Matheson,

Member of Parliament and judge,

Moved to Brockville as an adult.

Alan Macaulay,

NHL player with Toronto Maple Leafs.

James Motluck,

Documentary filmmaker who graduated from Thousand Islands Secondary School in 1981.

Portia Perez,

Women's professional wrestler.

Rachel Perry,

Former MuchMusic VJ and host on VH1.

Nathan Phillips,

Mayor of Toronto.

Sean Seonghwan,

Singer from South Korean girl group Red Velvet.

Randy Sexton,

General manager of the Ottawa Senators and St.

Lawrence University alumnus.

Frances Ford Seymour,

Mother of Jane Fonda and Peter Fonda.

Wife of Henry Fonda.

Kelly Thornton,

Theater director.

Sister City,

Ontario California,

United States.

The Thousand Islands constitute a North American archipelago of 1,

864 islands that straddles the Canada-US border in the St.

Lawrence River as it emerges from the northeast corner of Lake Ontario.

They stretch for about 50 miles downstream from Kingston,

Ontario.

The Canadian islands are in the province of Ontario and the US islands in the state of New York.

The islands range in size from over 40 square miles to smaller islands occupied by a single residence or uninhabited outcroppings of rocks.

To count as one of the Thousand Islands,

Emergent land within the river channel must have at least one square foot of land above water level year-round and support at least two living trees.

The Thousand Islands archipelago is at the outlet of Lake Ontario at the head of the St.

Lawrence River.

The region is bisected by the Canada-United States border and covers portions of Jefferson and St.

Lawrence counties in the US state of New York,

In addition to parts of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville and Frontenac County in the Canadian province of Ontario.

Geologically,

Most of the islands are where a branch of the Canadian Shield,

Known as the Thousand Islands-Frontenac Arch region,

Runs south across the river to join the Adirondacks.

This region was designated a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 2002.

The Thousand Islands Bridge connects New York State and Ontario by traversing Wellesley Island at the northernmost point of Interstate 81 in Jefferson County and meets Highway 137,

Which leads to Highway 401.

The waterfront is served by New York State Routes 12 and 37 and by the Thousand Islands Parkway in Ontario.

Ontario also has the Waterfront Trail alongside the Parkway for cyclists who wish to see the area in an alternative way.

Seaway Max Lake freighters often ply the St.

Lawrence Seaway.

As is usual in inland waters of the United States and Canada,

Vessels must use maritime pilots to help them travel safely.

In places,

A vessel less than 25 feet offshore can find itself in over 200 feet of water.

Conversely,

Rocks and shoals less than two feet underwater can be found in the center of otherwise deep waters.

Due to the great number of rocks and shoals just above or below the water surface,

Navigation outside of the marked channels at night can be dangerous.

Before the introduction of the zebra mussel,

Visibility of only 10 to 15 feet was usual,

Slightly decreasing as the years passed.

Water clarity improved markedly in the mid-1990s with the arrival of the zebra mussels,

Which feed on algae.

The water is so clear in some areas a rocky bottom can be observed in 80 feet of water.

The area has several shipwrecks,

And although most are over a hundred feet underwater,

Some are a mere 15 feet down and can be seen from the surface.

The single largest city in the region is Kingston,

Ontario,

Which has a metropolitan population of more than 170,

000 in 2021.

The city marks the western end of the region in Canada,

While Brockville,

Ontario,

To the east is the other large population center.

The American region along the river is much less dense.

The largest city is Watertown,

New York,

With a population of 25,

000 in 2020,

And is 20 miles inland.

There are a number of seasonal communities which grow significantly in the summer,

Like Thousand Island Park in New York.

In New York,

United States,

This region is within Jefferson County,

Alexandria Bay,

Cape Vincent,

Clayton,

Henderson Harbor,

Sackett's Harbor,

Northern Tug Hill,

Watertown.

In Ontario,

Canada,

This region includes the southern areas of Frontenac and Leeds and Grenville counties,

Brockville,

Gananoch,

Kingston,

Prescott,

Thousand Islands Parkway.

The largest island in the group,

Wolf Island,

Is entirely in Ontario.

Other large islands in the archipelago include New York's Grindstone Island and Wellesley Island,

And Ontario's Howe Island.

Adjacent to Wolf Island,

But part of New York,

Is Carleton Island,

The site of a ruined fort,

Fort Haldimand,

Built in 1779 by the British during the American Revolutionary War.

The island was captured by three American soldiers during the War of 1812 and remains part of the United States.

Deer Island,

About two miles north of Alexandria Bay,

Is owned by the Secret Society of Skull and Bones.

A pair of islands southwest of Grenadier Island are collectively called Zavicon Island.

A popular but incorrect tale is the larger island is in Canada,

While the smaller one is in the United States,

And the footbridge between them is the shortest international bridge in the world.

Zavicon Island is entirely in Canada and belongs to the Leeds and Grenville Municipal Unit.

Longview Island is the only artificial island in the region.

Ironside's Island is home to one of the largest great blue heron rookeries in northern New York State,

Where over 1,

000 herons return to breed each April.

The uninhabited Rocky Island near Alexandria Bay,

New York,

Is owned by the Nature Conservancy and was listed as a National Natural Landmark in 1967.

Calumet Island is near Clayton,

New York.

The privately owned island formerly featured as Castle Mansion,

Belonging to New York tobacco tycoon Charles G.

Emery,

And later hosted in Marina in the 1960s.

Just room enough island is the smallest inhabited island in the world.

Prior to European colonization,

The Thousand Islands region was home to or visited by members of the Iroquois Confederacy and Ojibwe people.

Their name for the islands was Manitona,

Or the Garden of the Great Spirit.

The region was part of the War of 1812 between the British Empire and the United States.

Many sites from the war can be found,

Such as Fort Wellington in Prescott,

Ontario,

And the garrison on Chimney Island,

Mallorytown,

Ontario.

Museums about the war can be found on both the Canadian and American side of the river.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries,

Many distinguished visitors made the region widely known as a summer resort.

During the half-century 1874 to 1912 of the resort's greatest prominence,

Most wealthy vacationers came from New York City,

Joined by prominent families from Chicago,

Cleveland,

Pittsburgh,

And other cities of the United States and Canada.

Several grand hotels provided luxurious accommodations,

While steamboats offered extensive tours among the islands.

Wealthy and middle-class summer residents built summer homes,

And the region retains a historically important collection of vacation homes from this time.

Among the lavish homes built during this time were several masonry castles,

Some of which remain as international landmarks.

The region's first castle,

Castle Rest,

Was built in 1888.

It was destroyed in the mid-20th century.

The most famous extant examples are the Towers on Dark Island,

Now called Singer Castle,

And the previously long-neglected Bolt Castle on Heart Island,

Which had been left unfinished for over 75 years upon the untimely death of George Bolt's wife.

It has since been completed over the recent decades in accord with Bolt's original plans.

The Thousand Islands have long been a center for recreational boating.

Large steam yachts,

Many designed by Nathaniel Hershoff,

Require distinctive yacht houses.

The region was known also for innovative powerboating during this period.

Three local yacht clubs hosted the Golden Cup races of the American Powerboat Association for nine consecutive years.

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