Simcoe Island
| Simcoe Island | ||
|---|---|---|
| Waters | Lake Ontario | |
| Geographical location | 44 ° 10 '5 " N , 76 ° 31' 27" W | |
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| length | 6 km | |
| width | 5 km | |
| surface | 37 km² | |
Simcoe Island is a small island approximately six kilometers long and five kilometers in diameter at the widest point in Lake Ontario , just off Wolfe Island, Ontario , near Kingston , Ontario .
The island consists almost entirely of farmland and can be reached by ferry from Wolfe Island. As part of Frontenac County , it forms the township of Frontenac Islands, Ontario with Wolfe Island and Howe Island, as well as smaller privately owned islands, Garden Island and Horseshoe 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 agriculture, with the exception of small, isolated forests. The name Gage Island was also used for a period of time. The name Simcoe was given to the island in honor of John Graves Simcoe .
The island's three main attractions are the cable ferry , one of the smallest in Ontario (with a maximum of three cars), the Nine Mile Point Lighthouse , which can be reached via the island's only main dirt road, the Nine Mile Point Road . The lighthouse was built in 1833 by master stonemason Robert Matthews and is one of the earliest examples of an "imperial" lighthouse in North America. The Nine Mile Point lighthouse has been in continuous operation since its completion nearly two centuries ago and is not only Canada's oldest active lighthouse on the Great Lakes, it is also considered one of the oldest active lighthouses in the entire Western Hemisphere. For nearly two centuries this lighthouse was operated and maintained by lighthouse keepers, some of whom still live on the island today. The light was automated in 1987 and today, in addition to its role as an active lighthouse, serves as a memorial to the many lost lives and sunken ships in the "Lake Ontario Cemetery".
Individual evidence
- ^ Simcoe Island, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry
- ↑ Thomson, Hugh C .; Macfarlane, James (1831): The Statutes of th Province of Upper Canada Together with such British Statutes, Ordinances of Quebec, and Proclamations as Related to the Said Province . Kingston, UC: Francis M. Hill. Pp. 24-25