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The Thousand Islands of New York
The name
may be "Thousand Islands" but,
at last count, there were 1,864 islands where the St. Lawrence River touches
Lake Ontario. Of course, after the first 1,000, who's really counting?
Indians believed this was
once the location of "Mantaoana"-the garden
of the Great Spirit. According to stories passed through generations, the Great
Spirit became angered after watching incessant battles taking place between
tribes and took the garden away. Unable to control disappointment, the Great
Spirit threw it back to earth, resulting in the 1,864 pieces of land sticking
out of the water.
Today, these islands dot
the shoreline from Henderson Harbor (NY) on Lake Ontario to more than 30
miles, northeast along the St. Lawrence River (also called "the Seaway")
to Chippewa Bay (NY). The southern shore is New York State while the northern
shoreline is in Canada, which means visitors and residents see an American
sunrise and a Canadian sunset. Following the southern shoreline of the St.
Lawrence is the Seaway Trail (www.seawaytrail.com), a 454-mile national byway
that follows the river from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrence and
the Atlantic Ocean.
The St. Lawrence River
flows out of Lake Ontario through four separate locks before reaching the
Atlantic. Completed in 1959, the Seaway moves more than $80 billion worth
of goods on freighters and container ships from all around the world every
year. While winter ice forces the closing of the Seaway from late December
to late March, it is a busy place the rest of the year. In fact, there's
a web site (www.boatnerd.com) that shows the locations of freighters as they
enter the Seaway and traverse to (called "down bound") or
from ("up bound") Great Lakes ports as far away as Duluth, Minnesota
(these ships can travel from Duluth to Montreal in about 105 hours-the distance
from Duluth to the Gulf of St. Lawrence is 2,340 miles). One ship carries the
same amount of cargo as 870 semi trucks.
Lots of Islands
The largest of the Thousand Islands is Wolfe Island, 20 miles long and, depending
on where you happen to be looking, one to seven miles wide. A Canadian Island,
Wolfe lies at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River between Cape Vincent, New
York and Kingston, Ontario. Ferries run to Marysville, the island's only
town (population 1,300). There's a boat ramp next to the Horne's Ferry terminal
on the south side of the island. Visitors will need to go to the Customs
Office located nearby if they intend to launch their boat here. The ferry
permits boat trailers onboard, but if the distance from the front of the
tow vehicle to the rear wheels of the trailer is more than 38 feet, call
ahead-315-783-0638. One must-see part of the island is Big Sandy Bay, located
on the southwest end of the island. Linda Van Hal, president of the Friends
of Sandy Bay, says hikers and boaters are welcome, but a few points need
to be kept in mind prior to arrival. "U.S. boaters will need to check
in at immigration. Once that's completed, there is no charge for launching
a boat in Marysville. But travel around Long Point (the northern shoreline
of Big Sandy Bay) needs to be done only on fair days because this is a very
windy part of the island." In fact it's so windy that plans are underway
to build an 86-turbine wind farm on the western shore to generate power.
A story continues to make
the rounds, especially on the Internet, about one of the islands in the area
taking the name "The Price Is Right Island" after
a contestant won it on the Price Is Right television show back in 1964. Didn't
happen.
"We've never heard of Price Is Right Island," notes
Wendy LaLonde of Hutchinson's Boatworks (a
BoatU.S. Cooperating Marina with fuel and slip discounts for Members in Alexandria
Bay. Still, people taking one of the many tour boats out of Alexandria Bay
or Clayton or Henderson Harbor will ask if Price Is Right is a destination.
Luckily there are other places to see, one of which was just sold at auction:
260-acre Fox Island, the home of former New York Governor Horace White, with
a private dock and a protected harbor. The price tag: more than $1 million.
One island that was once private but is now open to the public is Heart Island,
just offshore from Alexandria Bay, New York (and visible from Hutchinson's
Boat Works).This is the centerpiece of the Thousand Islands because of the
story behind a 120-room castle that was built in 1900 by George Boldt, owner
of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. More than 300 workers built
the structure adding gardens, a power plant, drawbridge, tunnels and a huge
boathouse. But in 1904, as work was almost completed, Boldt's wife Louise died.
Despondent over her death, he never came back to the island and the structure
sat unattended until 1977 when a local group took it over and began a $20 million
renovation project. Tour boats bring passengers to Heart Island from Alexandria
Bay and nearby Clayton, and there's a dock for recreational boats to tie up
and take a tour. The Castle is open between May and October 14, and it is available
for weddings.
Singer Castle on nearby Dark Island was built about the same time as Boldt
Castle (1902-1904) by Frederick Bourne, president of the Singer Sewing Machine
Company. The 28-room, four-story structure is made of granite brought by barge
from nearby Oak Island and has three boat houses (Singer owned speed boats
as well as a steam-powered yacht). Topsoil was brought in from Canada to cover
the eight-acres of rock on which the castle was built. It too is open for tours
and is accessible by tour boat as well as recreational boats as there's 400
feet of docking available. There are overnight accommodations at Singer Castle
for those wanting a taste, albeit temporary, of the high-end way of life.
Clayton, New York is home to the Antique Boat Museum which has a collection
of more than 200 boats ranging in size from sailing canoes to powered pleasure
boats to a 103-foot houseboat built in 1903 by George Boldt. A century ago,
Clayton was the northern terminus for the 30 or so trains arriving during the
summer from New York City. Today, it's a waterfront town with art galleries,
restaurants and a public boat ramp with 200 feet of floating docks.
Newcomers to the Thousand
Islands who bring boats are all told the same thing by the locals: Stay out
of the way of the freighters. "I probably see
a dozen or so on average every day," notes Mark LaLonde of Hutchinson's
Boatworks. "The shipping channel runs south of Wellesley Island so they
all pass right by here. They can't see a small boat so you've really got to
make the right judgment about trying to cross or being patient and letting
them pass." Once the container ships and freighters clear Tibbetts Point
at the eastern edge of the Seaway, they move into Lake Ontario where there's
more maneuverability.
The 8.5-mile Thousand Islands Bridge crosses the St. Lawrence just west of
Alexandria Bay to Ivy Lea, Ontario. The bridge is actually a series of five
spans crossing a number of (take a guess) islands between Canada and the United
States. One of the spans between Wellesley (in the U.S.) and Hill Islands (in
Canada) is the shortest international vehicular span in the world-it's all
of 90 feet long.
Not only is Wellesley Island an easy destination by car (there's a exit on
the Thousand Islands Bridge), it's also an easy run by boat from Alexandria
Bay. You can launch from one of two municipal boat ramps in Alexandria Bay
(Holland Street or Crossman Street) or, if you prefer, Wellesley has a pair
of state parks with boat ramps: Dewolf (10 cars) and Wellesley Island State
Park (50 cars). At the center of the island is Lake of the Isles, which is
a gathering spot for raft-ups on weekends.
But if you are crossing the bridge for a view of Canada, the boat and trailer
can make the trip with you. A vehicle pulling a single-axle trailer would pay
an additional $3.75 US ($4.25 Canadian) and each additional axle on a trailer
being towed would cost $1.25 US ($1.50 Canadian). Remember too that new Homeland
Security rules now require a U.S. passport to enter Canada. If you're taking
the ferry from Cape Vincent to Canada, you may leave your car on Wolfe Island
(it's free) and take the ferry over to Kingston, Ontario for an afternoon of
walking instead of having the car go through a customs inspection.
Despite all the activity
on and around these 1,864 pieces of land in the St. Lawrence River, there's
still a "Garden of the Great Spirit" that's
both seen and felt. Ask anyone with a boat that's spent time there. They see
and feel it too.
Hutchinson's Boatworks www.hutchinsonsboatworks.com
Boldt Castle www.boldtcastle.com
Singer Castle www.singercastle.com
1000 islands Tourism www.visit1000islands.com
Thousand Island Dressing
The popular salad dressing got its start in the Thousand Islands, hence the
name. In the early 1900's, Sophia LaLonde, wife of Clayton, New York fishing
guide George LaLonde, served a homemade salad dressing to actress May Irwin
who was so impressed she asked for the recipe. Irwin then handed the recipe
to the owners of a Clayton Hotel (now called the Thousand Islands Inn and
where bottles of the original recipe are sold). But she also gave the recipe
to George and Louise Boldt, Thousand Island residents who owned New York
City's Waldorf Astoria Hotel and who were building a mansion on Heart Island
(Boldt Castle). The Boldt's ordered the salad dressing be served in their
hotel dining room. Since that time, it's been found in almost every dining
room. |
