The St. Lawrence river flowing in from Lake Ontario becomes, in the course of a few miles, so wide and so full of islands that it was called the Lake of the 1000 Islands.
Located in Northern New York State, the Thousand Islands Region is located approximately 30 miles north of Watertown, NY.
To the Indians it was known as “Manatoana” or Garden of the Great Spirit. As a vacation paradise it is world renowned. The river, 15 miles at its source, gradually narrows to five miles in width and the islands, over 1800 of them, vary in size from mere points of rock to those of several square miles in area. They extend from Cape Vincent to Ogdensburg, a distance of 50 miles. The resort building boom, at its zenith during the 1870’s, caught on in the 1000 Islands. Good and easy transportation by rail and boat brought throngs of visitors to the Islands. Small islands were going at bargain prices for summer home sites. Known as the “Venice of America”, the 1000 Islands became a desirable summer resort for the newly wealthy. Reflective of the times, the architecture ranged from tiny gingerbread laden cottages to vast homes of high Victorian styles.
The beauty of the islands’ scenery, the romantic history of the region, purity of air, attractions for the sportsman, be he an angler or fish, hunter for game, or a boat racer for excitement, have been the inspiration of historians, tourists, novelists and poets during the past hundred years and remain so today.