Cable Ferry from Wolfe Island to Simcoe Island

Simcoe Island is a small island approximately long, and across at its widest point, in

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border ...

, just off Wolfe Island, close to

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between To ...

, and Amherst Island. The island is almost completely farmland and can be reached by ferry from Wolfe Island. Part of

Frontenac County Frontenac County is a county and census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. It is located in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario. The city of Kingston is in the Frontenac census division, but is separated from the County of Front ...

, it forms the township of

Frontenac Islands, Ontario Frontenac Islands is a township (Canada), township located in Frontenac County, Ontario, Canada, that encompasses a number of islands at the beginning of the Saint Lawrence River near the outlet of Lake Ontario, including: Arabella Island (Lake O ...

with Wolfe Island and Howe Island, together with smaller, privately owned islands, Garden Island and Horseshoe Island. On 16 July 1792, scant months after the partition of Quebec into the provinces of

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of th ...

and

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada The following is a list of lieutenant governors of Ontario and the lieutenant governors of the former colony of Upper Canada. The office of Lieutenant Governor of Ontario was created in 1867, when the Province of Ontario was created upon Confed ...

John Graves Simcoe John Graves Simcoe (25 February 1752 – 26 October 1806) was a British Army general and the first lieutenant governor of Upper Canada from 1791 until 1796 in southern Ontario and the watersheds of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior. He founded Yor ...

named the archipelago at the head of the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

for the victorious generals at the

Battle of the Plains of Abraham The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec (french: Bataille des Plaines d'Abraham, Première bataille de Québec), was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years' War (referred to as the French and Indian War to describe ...

James Wolfe James Wolfe (2 January 1727 – 13 September 1759) was a British Army officer known for his training reforms and, as a major general, remembered chiefly for his victory in 1759 over the French at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in Quebec. ...

, Jefferey Amherst, William Howe, Guy Carleton and

Thomas Gage General Thomas Gage (10 March 1718/192 April 1787) was a British Army general officer and colonial official best known for his many years of service in North America, including his role as British commander-in-chief in the early days of th ...

. The last is now known as Simcoe Island. Although the island was originally named Isle de Foret ("Forest Island") by early French settlers, most of the trees on the island have been removed for farming, with the exception of small isolated forests and trees. The name Gage Island was also used for a period of time. The name Simcoe was given to the island in honour of

. The two main points of interest on the island are the

cable ferry A cable ferry (including the terms chain ferry, swing ferry, floating bridge, or punt) is a ferry that is guided (and in many cases propelled) across a river or large body of water by cables connected to both shores. Early cable ferries often ...

, one of the smallest in Ontario (holding a maximum of three cars), and the Nine Mile Point Lighthouse, accessible by the island's only main dirt road, Nine Mile Point Road, Built in 1833 by master stonemason Robert Matthews, the lighthouse is one of the earliest examples of an "Imperial" lighthouse in North America. In continuous operation since it was completed nearly two centuries ago, not only is the Nine Mile Point Lighthouse the oldest active Canadian lighthouse on the Great Lakes, it has the distinction of being one of the oldest active lighthouses in the entire Western Hemisphere. For most of its nearly two centuries of service this lighthouse was operated and maintained by light keepers some of whose descendants still live on the island. The light was automated in 1987 and today, in addition to its role as an active lighthouse, it serves as a memorial to the many lives lost and ships sunk off its shores in the "Graveyard of Lake Ontario", including ''Comet'', a paddle steamer from the United States, ''Aloha'', a -long vessel, and ''Effie Mae'', which collided with ''Aloha''.

References

{{Reflist Landforms of Frontenac County Islands of Lake Ontario in Ontario