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Wolfe Island (Ontario)
Encyclopedia
Saint Lawrence River
The Saint Lawrence is a large river flowing approximately from southwest to northeast in the middle latitudes of North America, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. It is the primary drainage conveyor of the Great Lakes Basin...
in Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
near Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
. Wolfe Island is part of Frontenac County, Ontario
Frontenac County, Ontario
Frontenac County, as defined by Statistics Canada, is a census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. It is located in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario. The City of Kingston is included in the census division, but is politically separated from the County of Frontenac. It has a land...
. Together with Howe Island
Howe Island
Howe Island is an island located in the St. Lawrence River west of Kingston in Frontenac County, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Thousand Islands chain...
, Simcoe Island
Simcoe Island
Simcoe Island is a small island in Lake Ontario, just off Wolfe Island, close to Kingston, Ontario, and Amherst Island. The island in almost completely farmland and can be reached by ferry from Wolfe Island...
, and Hickory Island forms the Township of Frontenac Islands
Frontenac Islands, Ontario
Frontenac Islands is a township located in Frontenac County, Ontario, Canada. It had a population of 1,862 in the Canada 2006 Census, and encompasses five islands at the beginning of the Saint Lawrence River near the outlet of Lake Ontario: Bayfield, Garden, Hickory, Horseshoe, Howe, Wolfe and...
. It is the largest of the Thousand Islands
Thousand Islands
The Thousand Islands is the name of an archipelago of islands that straddle the Canada-U.S. border in the Saint Lawrence River as it emerges from the northeast corner of Lake Ontario. They stretch for about downstream from Kingston, Ontario. The Canadian islands are in the province of Ontario, the...
. The largest community on the island is Marysville. The island was called Grand Ile by the French, but was ultimately named after British
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
General James Wolfe
James Wolfe
Major General James P. Wolfe was a British Army officer, known for his training reforms but remembered chiefly for his victory over the French in Canada...
.
The island is about 29 km long, with its width varying from around 9 km to a few hundred metres at some points; it has an area of approximately 124 km² (47.9 sq mi). The resident population is approximately 1400 people, but this number can double or triple during the summer months.
Wolfe Island can be reached by ferry from both Canada and the United States. The ferry from Kingston (Wolfe Islander III
Wolfe Islander III
The Wolfe Islander III is the ferry currently serving between Kingston, Ontario and Wolfe Island . It can hold approximately 55 cars, and is end-loading. The length of car deck is 61 metres . The vehicle height restriction is 4.4 m . Crossing time is approximately 20 minutes...
) is operated by the Ministry of Transportation and is free of charge. This ferry operates from two locations: the Summer Dock located in Marysville and the Winter Dock located at Dawson Point. This route includes a bubbler system that stretches to the Barrak Street Dock in Kingston, Ontario. This ferry service is currently being examined in an ongoing transportation study . The seasonal Horne's ferry (May to October) toll ferry to Cape Vincent, New York
Cape Vincent, New York
Cape Vincent, New York may refer to:* Cape Vincent , New York* Cape Vincent , New York...
, first licenced in 1802, is still operated by the descendants of the first licence-holder.
Flora and fauna
Snowy owlSnowy Owl
The Snowy Owl is a large owl of the typical owl family Strigidae. The Snowy Owl was first classified in 1758 by Carolus Linnaeus, the Swedish naturalist who developed binomial nomenclature to classify and organize plants and animals. The bird is also known in North America as the Arctic Owl, Great...
s are frequently seen on the island during winter. It is also an important stopover location for migrating
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
waterfowl including swans in spring and fall. Wolfe Island is also home to a growing population of wild turkeys, and well as deer and other fauna. It is designated an Important Bird Area
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird Area is an area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations. Currently there are about 10,000 IBAs worldwide. The program was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International...
.
The Big Sandy Bay Management Area on Wolfe Island is a 404-hectare property, classified as a provincially significant life sciences Area of Natural and Scientific Interest
Area of Natural and Scientific Interest
An Area of Natural and Scientific Interest is an official designation by the provincial Government of Ontario in Canada applied to contiguous geographical regions within the province that have geological or ecological features which are significantly representative provincially or regionally...
. Sand dunes and wetlands allow rare plant species to flourish here. Rare trees and birds deemed to be significant either regionally or provincially are also found here. The environmental area is protected and no motorized vehicles are allowed, though there is ample free parking provided at the entrance. A well-marked and level walking trail leads to a large, secluded sand beach with shallows reaching out well into Lake Ontario. The beach is safe and family-friendly, but there are no services, so visitors are encouraged to bring their own refreshments and must carry out all garbage and recyclables to dispose of at home.
Recreation and other facilities
There are two golf courses on Wolfe Island, a corn mazeCorn maze
A corn maze or maize maze is a maze cut out of a corn field. They have become popular tourist attractions in North America, and a way for farms to create tourist income. Many are based on artistic designs such as characters from movies. Corn mazes appear in many different designs. Some mazes are...
and three marked bicycle routes and country roads. The town of Marysville includes a bakery, restaurants and various other shops and services, as well as the largest church in the Thousand Islands (Sacred Heart of Mary Church). A new medical clinic opened in the spring of 2010. There is a volunteer fire and ambulance service on the island.
Additionally, Wolfe Island has Big Sandy Bay Management Area. During the summer months in Marysville the Old House Museum is in operation. There are two elementary schools on the island: Marysville Public School that is part of the Limestone District School Board and Sacred Heart Catholic School that is part of the Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board.
In Marysville, the Wolfe Island Business and Tourism Association (WIBTA) operates a tourist information centre seasonally.
The limestone Wolfe Island Town Hall is a National Historic Site of Canada.
Development
Wolfe Island is the site of most Kingston radio and television transmitters; CKWSCKWS-TV
CKWS is an affiliate of the CBC Television Network in Kingston, Ontario, providing coverage to Eastern Ontario from Campbellford to Morrisburg and from Perth to Oswego, New York in the United States....
, CKLC
CFLY-FM
CFLY-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts at 98.3 FM in Kingston, Ontario. The station broadcasts a hot adult contemporary radio format branded as 98.3 FLY FM. The station broadcasts with 95,500 watts of power from its trasmitter located in Harrowsmith.-History:The station was launched...
and CFRC
CFRC-FM
CFRC-FM is the campus radio station of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario Canada.The station has one of the longest radio histories in the world, surpassed only by the Marconi companies. CFRC remains in operation at the present time and serves the Queen's University campus and greater Kingston...
transmit from the island. It also had historically been the site of various cheese
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
factories, including one once operated by Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods Inc. is an American confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It markets many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earn more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, Tang...
.
Perhaps the most striking feature of contemporary Wolfe Island is the Wolfe Island Wind Project
Wolfe Island Wind Project
Wolfe Island Wind Farm is a large wind farm project located on Wolfe Island, Ontario . The wind farm became operational on June 29, 2009. It is owned and operated by Canadian Hydro Developers, Inc., through its subsidiary Canadian Renewable Energy Corporation...
, a wind farm
Wind farm
A wind farm is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electric power. A large wind farm may consist of several hundred individual wind turbines, and cover an extended area of hundreds of square miles, but the land between the turbines may be used for agricultural or other...
developed by Canadian Hydro Developers. The 197.8 MW wind plant consists of 86 wind turbines, which have been in commercial operation since June 26, 2009. This is currently the second largest turbine project in Canada (the first being the Melancthon EcoPower Centre
Melancthon EcoPower Centre
The Melancthon EcoPower Centre is a 199.5 megawatt wind farm in Melancthon Township, near Shelburne, Ontario. The centre, Canada's largest wind energy installation, is owned and operated by Canadian Hydro....
, located at Shelburne, Ontario
Shelburne, Ontario
Shelburne, Ontario is a town in Dufferin County, Ontario, Canada, located at the intersection of Highway 10 and Highway 89...
).
Notable residents
- Don Cherry
- Ken KeyesKen Keyes (politician)Kenneth A. Keyes is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1985 to 1990, and served as a cabinet minister in the government of David Peterson.Keyes was educated at Toronto Teacher's College, Queen's University and the University...
- Grant AllenGrant AllenCharles Grant Blairfindie Allen was a science writer, author and novelist, and a successful upholder of the theory of evolution.-Biography:...
(February 24, 1848 – October 25, 1899) - Fr. Raymond J. de Souza (columnist)Raymond J. de SouzaFather Raymond J. de Souza is a columnist for the National Post newspaper and the parish priest of Sacred Heart of Mary Parish on Wolfe Island, Ontario, Canada. He is the current Roman Catholic chaplain at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, and is also chaplain of the Queen’s football team...