Thousand Islands Facts
Gananoque & The 1000 Islands
Thousand Islands Ontario Canada
1000 Islands, Thousand Islands, destination, activities, attractions, boating, fishing, accommodations, vacation.

Gananoque, pronounced Gan-an-ock-wee is an Indian name meaning "A Place of Health." 
Known to the traveling  public as "The Town Where The Gates Are Always Open," visitors receive a 
unique and friendly welcome from massive gateways  at each entrance to the town.
The Indians called the 1000 Islands "Monatoana," meaning "Garden of the Great Spirit."

Gananoque was first identified in 1686 on Deshaise's chart
of the St. Lawrence as “Gananocouy”. The town itself was founded by Col. Joel Stone,
 one of the many United Empire Loyalists who relocated to
Upper Canada following the American Revolution.

Gananoque lies along the St. Lawrence River, at the mouth of the Gananoque River.
The town was founded by Charles McDonald, who built a mill there in 1812 and later laid out the town site.
Its name is said to mean “rocks rising out of the water.” The town is located 18 miles (29 km) northeast of
Kingston and near St. Lawrence Islands National Park.

The Thousand Islands extends on the Canadian side from Wolfe Island near Kingston, On., to the Brockville narrows at Brockville, On. On the American side they extend from Tibbets Point on Lake Ontario to
Morristown, NY

The 1000 Islands Bridge extends from Collins Landing near Alexandria Bay, New York to Ivy Lea near Gananoque, Ontario covering a distance of 8.5 miles and provides direct connection between US  Interstate Rt. 81 and Canadian Highway 401.  The Thousand Island bridge was built in 1938 by Prime Minister William Mackenzie King and President Franklin Roosevelt.
The Bridge took seven years to build

St. Lawrence River - The St. Lawrence River is one of the great rivers of the world, stretching for  1,247 Kilometers,775 miles. The River starts where Lake Ontario empties and flows northeast to the Atlantic Ocean. It carries the fresh water of the Great Lakes to the Atlantic and provides access to the heart of North America. The upper St. Lawrence is graced by pink granite and limestone islands, large and tiny, for a distance of sixty miles. The River drains the largest fresh water source on the face of the Earth, The Great Lakes. The Upper St. Lawrence and the Thousand Islands area was once called The Garden of the Great Spirit by the Native Americans.

Boldt Castle located on Heart Island surrounded by The Saint Lawrence River and the beautiful 1000 Islands. Beginning in 1900 George C. Boldt set out to build a full size castle on Heart Island. The grand structure was to be for the love of his his life "Louise". In 1904 Louise Boldt suddenly died, for 73 years everything lay doomed. In 1977 the 1000 Island Bridge Authority assumed ownership of Heart Island with the under standing that they would keep restoring the Island. Today Boldt Castle is open to the public from mid May to October. Accessible by Tour boat And private boats.