The Lost Villages of the St Lawrence.

Growing up in Cornwall, Ontario, I have always known about the Lost Villages of the St Lawrence; I remember visiting the ruins of the sunken roadways along the modern day Long Sault Parkway and hearing stories about my mom and her brothers going to the beach on Sheeks Island just before the area was flooded in the late 1950s. Although, my mom barely remembers this (being a 4 year old girl at the time). She did tell me that she saw the last boat go through the Cornwall Canal, and witnessed the construction of the Seaway International Bridge from her aunt's house.
Wanting to learn a little more and to see some of the artifacts from these towns, I decided to delve a little further and recently visited the "Lost Villages Museum" just east of Long Sault. This museum is a collection of important buildings from the towns that were moved to higher ground and relocated to the Lost Villages. During the St Lawrence Seaway project over 6500 people were relocated from the villages of Mille Roches, Moulinette, Wales, Dixon's Landing and Aultsville to the two new towns of Long Sault and Ingleside. In 1958, Long Sault and Ingleside did not even have names. Instead the Ontario Government just said "OK, we are moving these houses to these new settlements, New Town #1 and New Town #2". Long Sault, the Eastern town, was the easiest to name. The people agreed quickly on "Long Sault" after the famous rapids. Ingleside, however, did not get its name until the Early 1960s when the people of the new towns agreed on the name Ingleside, "Close to the Heart"

VILLAGE LIFE 1800s to 1950s

This is my collection of pictures I took around some of the buildings at the Lost Villages Park.

S.S 17 SCHOOLHOUSE
A very small schoolhouse from one of the villages.


























THE CHURCH

An old church relocated from
one of the villages before the
flooding.

MOULINETTE STATION

This tiny building that looks almost like a
shed or a garage was once actually a tiny
railroad station on the Grand Trunk
Railway, located in the village of Moulinette.

THE GHOST ROADS

OLD HIGHWAY 2
This picture was taken on Phillpotts Island of the Long Sault Parkway. This laneway was once part of Old Higway 2 before the flooding of the Seaway. Judging by how narrow it is, it's amazing to imagine that this tiny little laneway was once the busiest road in the area. It is now almost entirely below the surface of the water, between the town of Morrisburg and Cornwall.

West On The Ghost Road
Here is the view of Old Highway 2 looking west from what is now Phillpotts Island. This location is one of the closest spots to the main shipping channel where the roadway remains above the water level.

MACDONELL ISLAND GHOST ROAD
Although I am not positive if this roadway is part of Old Highway 2, it very well could be. MacDonnell Island is also close to where the main shipping lane is, as well as the original St Lawrence River. This Island is now a major diving site for the SOS Divers Club since it is relatively close to lock 21 of the old Cornwall Canal. This Island contains several of these roads and also has an excellent plaque with the history of the St Lawrence Seaway on it.

Colours of Summer

Summer for me is the season of life, and vitality. When the world is in bloom, and in its most lush state. I am out and about, emerged in its ever present beauty. Wherever I step, I cannot escape it. Whether I be strolling down a far away trail in the woods, or in a city. Here are my 10 favourite summertime photos of 2009 - taken around Cornwall and Kingston, Ontario.

HONEY BEE

A Honey Bee gathers honey from a pink thistle under the shade of an Old Growth Pine Forest.

HERON

A Great Blue Herron is Perched on a log and is waiting for a fish or frog to pounce on with his strong and agile beak

HELM

A sail boat is left unattended at the Ferry Dock in Marysville. I look in to get a shot

RARE GRASSES

Rare Dune Grasses blow in the wind at Big Sandy Bay, Wolfe Island.

FAINTED FLOWER

A wild poppy like flower grows in the most unexpected place fainting onto the asphalt of a picturesque road in Kingston.

AS THE SUN SETS

Taken on one of the hottest evenings of 2009 while strolling along the artificial creek at the Cornwall Eco Garden.

TURBINE

Taken on Wolfe Island, 1 of 86 wind turbines put up last winter, taken while cycling on an extreamly remote gravel road at the far western tip of the Island . Because of its futuristic appearance I just played around with the hue a little bit to give it a surrealist look, and this is what I thought looked good.

CLOCK TOWER

The clock tower from the old Cornwall Post Office which is now the centre peice of Lameroux Park in Downtown Cornwall. I took this picture while crunched over in the flowerbeds to get that distinctive angle.

CATHCART TOWER

Cathcart Tower is a Martello Tower in the city of Kingston. During the American Revolution this was used to gaurd the city of an attack. However fortunately the American attack never came. During the 19th century this was one of the most important harbours in Canada.

BLACK EYED SUZY

Ok, I know the title of this article is "Colours of Summer" but I could not resist to put something in B@W in here, so here it is. A beautiful Black Eyed Susan Photo shot in macro mode, with a nice grainy effect.

BIG SANDY BAY, WOLFE ISLAND

Although the summer of 2009 has been consistently rainy, and coolish. I have still managed to have a lot of interesting excursions, and in some of the most unexpected places. One such place is at the Big Sandy Bay Beach on the southwestern shores of Wolfe Island. To get to Big Sandy Bay you take the ferry across from Kingston which will bring you into the small and quaint village of Marysville. From here take highway 96 to highway 95 which is just at the otherside of the village, and head south to Reeds Bay Road, head down Reeds Bay road to the very end, and you will be at the entrance to Big Sandy Bay. Also, be aware that the cost to use the beach is $8 a person, or $20 for a family. However it is well worth it. The park has a group of people who manage the area and keep it clean. So, unlike a lot of beaches you will not find all kinds of garbage everywhere, and washed up pop cans and water bottles. From the entrance, it is then a 1.2km hike from here down a trail, and across a boardwalk to the actual beach and sand dunes. It is a very long beach stretching for over 3km which makes it an excellent walking beach. However it is also narrow. The best part of the beach is at the southern side where the dunes are higher, and there is a lookout where you can climb up through these hills of sand and overlook the entire area. Since Big Sandy Bay is on Wolfe Island, and is off of the beaten path, it is also an excellent spot for cyclists, which is how I went there. Cycling is also an excellent way to see some of the unique features of the island, and the vast farmlands/ terrain while being fully emerged in the awsome beauty of this part of the province.