Life on the Edge: The Cultural Landscape of the Thousand Islands Area

Osborne, Huitema, Ripmeester, “Shared Places, Shifting Spaces: The First Nations of The Thousand Islands

- p.14 a “shared homeland” of many First Nations groups (dwellings)

- p.15 post-1650’s after displacing the Huron, the Iroquois became the dominant group in the area (dwellings)

- by 1720’s the Mississauga had returned to the fertile hunting grounds as far East as Brockville (shore-harv)

- area of Frontenac Axis became a buffer zone between the Mississauga and Algonquin and Nipissing

- p.17 British forms of territory and ownership altered the relationship with the land

- p.18 Royal Proclamation of 1763 designated lands along Upper St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario front was “Indian Hunting Grounds” (dwellings) (harvesting)

- 1783 Captain William Crawford and Loyalists organized the purchase of land (Crawford Purchase) along the water from the Mississauga, creating, in effect, Kingston (formerly Frontenac under the French and Cataraqui under the British) (juris) (settlment)

- p.21 June 1856, Mississauga formally ceded the last rights of the Islands in Surrender No. 77 to the Indian Branch of the Department of the Interior, marking the end of native presence in the Thousand Islands (juris)

- p.22 advent of tourism and a new ethic (rec)

Burtch, “The First Clearing of the Land: Making a Community” (communities)

- Colonel Joel Stone, 1791 sawmill, 1792 gristmill at mouth of Gananoque River, also rafting timber and selling lumber that came from the hinterland down the G. River to Kingston and as far as Montreal (water-extraction) (trans-service)

- p.32 old farms along the parkway that had once been granted to loyalists are being converted into country housing estates (dwellings) (expression)

- protected Landon Bay provides habitat for many species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and a critical spawning area for fish supporting a commercial fishery for 150 years (natural)

- p. 33 Landon Bay named after Loyalist Oliver Landon – first settlers in the Thousand Islands, operated a cooperage, potashery and gristmill (water-extraction)

- the bay would have been filled with timber waiting to be formed into drams to be floated to Quebec City by teams of men who lived on bard in bark huts (com-trans) (trans-service)

- p.34 much of the produce from Upper Canada was floated on these rafts to Montreal and even local people – boom during Napoleonic blockade of the Baltic (com-trans)

- p.37 Rockport, in early years, a point of entry with its deep waters for schooners and steamers, the original families involved in the timber trade, mercantile business and farming (com-trans) (trans-service) (communities)

- p.38 eventually a cheese factory here which would take milk from all the local farmers and ship cheese and butter to Montreal via the steamers (com-trans) (trans-service)

- after 1809, freight travelled by raft, bateaux, and Durham boats (most common for shipping) (com-trans)

- p.39 Darlingside National Historic Site

- p.40 Thomas Darling and his sons important to the commerce of the river, the middlemen between the river and the hinterland – shipping raw materials and bringing back goods to the frontier (trans-service)

- at the Canadian Palisades and Canadian Steam Boat Channel – point of portage just before the rapids, landing

- p.42 ran a store here and wharf where wood was stacked temporarily until loading

- businesses like this were the lifeblood of the economy that linked to Montreal

- p.43 grew into a vital depot (pre-railroad, that is)

- p.47 selling wood to mercantile businesses who owned their own steamships (small cordwood for fuel)

- deals with steamships to stop at Darlingside wharf to refuel ex. (trans-service)

- p.49 most of the Darlingside documents went to Queen’s University Archives and the Leeds and the Thousand Islands Historical Society

Heaton, “Potash Manufacture in the Upper St. Lawrence River Region 1780 – 1880” (com-trans)

- p.101 landscape of Upper St. Lawrence region was rugged and roads were few and far between and rough at best – waterway was vital to transport for such commodities as timber and the thriving potash industry

- ashes just second to lumber in the value generated for the local farmer, even greater than wheat and flour

Snetsinger, “Forgotten Lights: Nineteenth Century Lighthouses of the Canadian Thousand Islands” (trans-service)

- p.107 the “workhorses” of the river, most have not survived into the 21^st century

- p.111 often constructed of wood thus most have disappeared

- p.115 by mid-1900s most lighthouses were listed as “unwatched” – with introduction of electricity, Keepers were no longer needed

- p.117 care of a lighthouse generally stayed in one family

Summerskill, “A Brief History of St. Lawrence Islands National Park” (enviro-reg)

- p.169 1904, Canada’s first national park to the east of the Rocky Mountains

- intent to preserve native flora and fauna and allowing visitors to enjoy the natural beauty of the islands (enviro-reg)

- advent of the train brought tourism post-Am. Civil War

- p.170 by 1870’s thousands coming to enjoy steamer excursions (early-rec)

- locals were alarmed as islands that they had used for generations were now being bought up

- led to two petitions in 1874 to Gov. General from Prescott and Brockville, but with no luck – the islands were held in trust by gov. Canada for native people who had ceded them – money from sales used to benefit native people (juris)

- p.171 great eel fishery for Onondaga Iroquois at Mallorytown Landing – the islands were known as “Manitouana”, Garden of the Great Spirit (fishing)

- area of sustenance, summer camps, basket weaving from sweetgrass (shore-harv) (dwellings)

- p.172 Thadeus Leavitt, editor of the Brockville Recorder a driving force in renewing the call for a National Park

- p.173 the 9 islands reserved in 1904; Burnt or Aubrey, Pine or Mermaid, Buck or Beau Rivage, Hog or Camelot, Johnson or Endymion, Citron or Gordon, Deer or Georgina, Bowes or Constance, No. 116 or Adelaide, Part of Grenadier, Refugee or Stovin (enviro-reg)

- p.174 three of the original 7 pavillions constructed on the islands remain; Gordon, West Grenadier and Mallorytown Landing (expression)

- Mallorytown Landing a busy steamer shop, point for agricultural goods to be shipped down the river – the Mallory family donated a piece of front land to allow for public access (trans-service)

- p.175, causeway constructed from this point to Adelaide island (influence-trans)

- creation of the Parkway filled many small streams and wetlands, vital spawning grounds for pike; also split the National Park into two parts (transport) (harvesting)

- Mallorytown Landing was a community park for those who did not live on the river – place for swimming, picnics, family reunions (early-rec)

- p.176 by 1950’s, area began to change from a farming community to a recreational area – campground, boat rentals, cabin rentals (early-rec)

- p.178 further acquisitions for the National Park (enviro-reg)