History

The Muskrat

If there was one animal that everyone on the island admired, it was the muskrat.

Volume 17, Issue 5, May 2022
Manley L. Rusho

Remembering Atlantic Convoy Sailor Fletcher Raymond Wade

Speaking softly, Ray Wade points out that he made 56 trips in convoys to Britain, eventually working his way up to second mate status. Wade also remembers that first convoy, that first trip, heading out into the North Atlantic Ocean. With who knew what waiting for them . . .

Volume 17, Issue 5, May 2022
Brian Johnson

Watch "The River, Living the St. Lawrence! from WPBS"

Did you see the PBS Series "The River, Living the St. Lawrence?" All six episodes are here to watch, including one with me - Susie! (For sure it was a honor to be part of this project)

Volume 17, Issue 4, April 2022
Susan W. Smith

Clayton's 150th: Clayton's Opera House

There will be more than 80 events scheduled in 2022 that include both TIPAF events and rentals – yes, right here in the Clayton Opera House - but what is its history? The cornerstone was laid in 1903 . . .

Volume 17, Issue 4, April 2022
Julie Garnsey

Childhood Memories of Bullhead Fishing

A bullhead is a primitive looking fish, armed with fins that are capped with very sharp horns, one on each side on top of the head. Fishing for bullheads is a ritual, an almost sacred ceremony.

Volume 17, Issue 4, April 2022
Manley L. Rusho

"Queen of the Inland Seas"

"SS South American", a 321-foot overnight Great Lakes passenger steamer, did not normally ply the waters of the St Lawrence River. Her realm was the waters of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, and Erie.

Volume 17, Issue 4, April 2022
Alan Goldstein

Early Navigation on the Chaumont River, Depauville

To look at the shallow and winding six-mile Chaumont River, running between Chaumont and Depauville, NY, it’s hard to believe that this stream was once navigated by steamboats and even by a sizable schooner.

Volume 17, Issue 4, April 2022
Richard Palmer

Memories of a Spring Duck Hunt

This was 1944, so even shot gun shells were rationed because of WWII, and there were no choices in the store as to size or brand. When we needed supplies, we would travel to Clayton and visit Nunn’s Hardware Store.

Volume 17, Issue 3, March 2022
Manley L. Rusho

State of the Art Technology at Work

On February 4, 2022, Khris and Dana Hunt, from Hunt's Dive Shop in Clayton, NY, set up a tent on the ice covering the St. Lawrence. Though the tent looked similar to the many other ice fishing tents used by fishermen every February, the Hunts were on a different mission.

Volume 17, Issue 3, March 2022
Dennis McCarthy

Rock Island Lighthouse, Part II

William (Bill) Johnston has a storied history in the Thousand Islands, and it is sometimes difficult to separate the man from the legend – or from the mythologized “pirate” celebrated at the annual Alexandria Bay “Bill Johnston Pirate Days” festival.

Volume 17, Issue 3, March 2022
Mary Alice Snetsinger

Discovering History through Social Media

One of the project highlights is the 1000 Islands History Museum’s social media program is featuring old photographs from the Civic Collection

Volume 17, Issue 3, March 2022
Zane Smith

Clayton's 150th: The Life of Simon G. Johnston

The Life of Simon G. Johnston - Shipbuilding was the major industry and largest employer in Clayton, NY, from the early 19th century to well into the 20th century. . .

Volume 17, Issue 3, March 2022
Richard Palmer

The Ice Harvest

Before electric power was expanded into the Thousand Islands, there was a small, but brutal business called ice harvesting. Basically, it consisted of cutting large chunks of ice from the frozen St. Lawrence River . . .

Volume 17, Issue 2, February 2022
Manley L. Rusho

Cliffe Craft Revisited

I got involved with Cliffe Craft boats in 1994 when searching around to find a decent, restorable, wooden hull regardless of the company or the builder.

Volume 17, Issue 2, February 2022
Marc Benoit

Remembering GBL’s Wilfred Bilow, A Diamond in the Rough

I’d heard of this guy. He had a reputation as being ‘tough as nails’. Everyone in the local marine industry from Picton to Prescott either knew him or of him. Most feared him. But everyone . . .

Volume 17, Issue 2, February 2022
Brian Johnson

Taking the Trolley to Alexandria Bay

One of the first electric trolley lines in northern New York was a line built from Redwood to the village of Alexandria Bay. It was only seven and a half miles long and was built by a group of local investors . .

Volume 17, Issue 2, February 2022
Richard Palmer

Rock Island Lighthouse, Part I

Rock Island is most likely the most famous light station on the River. Read all about it!

Volume 17, Issue 2, February 2022
Mary Alice Snetsinger

Winona Circle Quilt Returns to Gananoque

The story of Gananoque’s Grace United Church's WWII quilt, a Joanne Dermenjian a Queen's Masters Student, and Jo Andrews' who produces a British Podcast . . ..

Volume 17, Issue 1, January 2022
Susan W. Smith