Notes on the Early History Of

Early History of

Downie Island

Original Cottagers:

The Alnwick Band of the Mississauga Indians lived, hunted, fished and owned all the Islands in the Bay of Quinte, Weller’s Bay and the St. Lawrence. An 1822 survey of the islands intoned, “A few Indians reside in the islands which are thickly scattered in the river St. Lawrence opposite the townships of Younge, Leeds and Lansdowne in this district; but they are too unimportant to be of consequence in our estimate of population, even if their numbers could be ascertained”.

The Mississauga or Island Indians, began leaving the Islands in the period 1810 to 1830, largely as a result of intensive timber cutting…originally for lumber and later for cordwood for steamships. Virtually every island was denuded of saleable lumber (what we see today on the islands is 2nd and 3rd growth post clearance). This effectively removed the Indian’s source of livelihood. A group of Methodist missionaries arrived in Kingston in 1822 to convert the Mississauga’s to Christianity and by 1830 all the Island Indians had moved to their Mission on Grape Island in the Bay of Quinte. In 1837, the reserve moved to the Township of Alnwick on Rice Lake where their descendants live to this day.

Shortly after the Indians left the islands, whites settled on or otherwise continued to exploit many of the larger islands. They either paid yearly rents to the Mississauga’s or simply squatted, timbered or pastured to their liking.

In 1856, this band, in Surrender No. 77, sold “those Islands lying in the Bay of Quinte, on Lake Ontario, in Weller’s Bay and in The River St. Lawrence as well as points of land on the mainland considered Mississauga property to ”Our Most Gracious Sovereign Lady Queen Victoria and Her Successors...now locally, if not affectionately, known as “the Canadian Government”.

To understand just what was bought and sold in Surrender No. 77, John McNaughton began a survey of the islands in March (still a bit chilly!) 1856, from the eastern end of Howe Is. to just past Downie. In his chart, Downie is called Drive Island and was perhaps the eastern most boundary of the Alnwick’s land. His 1862 report describes it as “54 acres. Value $100. Island is partly clear and under meadow, has well sheltered bays, said to be valuable for catching Pickerel in them at certain seasons of the year.”

Origin of the Name:

The Islands were first surveyed by Captain William FitzWilliam Owen, Hydrographer, Royal Navy. Starting in the March of 1816 he began a six week survey from Jones Creek (near Mallorytown) to the Bay of Quinte. A complete Survey the River from Lake Ontario to Galop Rapids was published in 1818. The purpose of the survey being to aid navigation, specifically the Royal Navy, and to help determine the US - Canada boarder. The Navy fought more than 20 naval battles on the lakes between May 1813 and September 1814 and decided charts would be a good thing!

To Owen we owe the current grouping of the Islands (Admiralty, Navy, Lake Fleet, etc) as well as the first European Island names (though the Mississauga’s could only name 14 at the time of the 1857 surrender document, they knew there were many more). Giving a unique or meaningful name to a thousand islands could be a boring task so, for the Navy Group, he simply took names of British officers mentioned in the section on “Promotions from Whitehall, London” from an old copy of The Gentleman’s Magazine. Many of these officers he would have known from the navel base in Kingston and from their exploits in the War of 1812.

Consequently, Downie Island was probably named after George Downie, RN, who was appointed to Lieutenant, in 1802. He transferred from commanding the Montreal on Lake Ontario to commanding the Confiance on Lake Champlain during the War of 1812. Downie was killed in action off Plattsburgh NY in September 1814.

The island was also known as Drive (McNaughton) and locally as Float Island in the late 1800’s up to the mid-1900’s.

Ownership:

In 1873 the Canadian Government decided to sell the Islands (it had been holding them in trust for the Alnwick Indians). Charles Unwin was hired to do a survey of the islands and to determine their value for sale. His survey was completed in March 1874 and described Downie as “66.5 acres, Value $500. 20 acres cleared, fairly arable sandy loam, the unclear portion is very rough, and has had a great deal of timber taken off. There are two small dwelling houses on it, a man named Filo lives there, but it is claimed by his son-in-law Chas. Shipman”

Downie was sold in 1881 (presumably by the Canadian Gov’t) to L. Steward. Later the island was leased to the Shipman family (of Shipman’s Point fame) for $30 a year and then sold to them. Sold to A. Ferguson for $900 (no date). Ferguson also bought Spilsbury Island in 1894 for $300 and Mulcaster for $900.

The National Archives of Canada notes (no date given but presumably it refers to a period prior to 1870) “ Samuel Covey was the first person whom I know as having possession of the island who transferred it to one Joseph Davis over 30 years ago. Joseph Davis transferred it same island to David Shipman who was father to Charles Shipman, transferred the island about 12 years ago. When the same Charles Shipman first obtained the island from his father, he built a house which was subsequently destroyed by fire and he erected a second house which now stands on it. He also planted a hundred apple trees on the island. He cultivated pasture”.

At the turn of the last century, Downie Island was the site of the Boys’ Summer Boarding School, built by the Reverend August Ullmann, rector of the Trinity College in New York City. He bought the island from Thomas Shipman in 1901. The school, built on the south side of the island, existed for only a couple of years.

Although Ullmann retained ownership of the island for a decade, he rented the school buildings to Alexander MacFarlane in 1913. MacFarlane converted the building into the Float Island House, a hotel that could accommodate seventy-five guests. The lease was renewed for fifteen years. A steamer dock was built as well as a road around the island and many walking paths. The property surrounding the hotel was landscaped, and a vegetable garden provided the hotel kitchens with produce.

By the Second World War the hotel had lost its appeal and was torn down and the island “returned to nature”. Several sections were separated and sold as cottage lots in the ’50’s and 60’s.

In 1966, the Downie Island Development Syndicate, hired J.A. Minnes to survey and subdivided the island to yield the current lot structure (some have been further subdivided since). The principles in this undertaking were Harold A. McCarney, Jr., Frank Tindall and Vernon, J. Pope.

History to Look for while walking the Millennium Trail:

Everyone has seen the “old chimney” from the Float House hotel and remains of several of the out buildings. It might be a fun project to map the main hotel and all the outbuildings including the Steamer dock.

Going back earlier, we know the Mississauga Indians called Ninette Island “sugar island” for the maple syrup they made from the maple trees there. They surely would have hunted and fished Downie, so there could be some artifacts somewhere from seasonal habitation and hunting.

From the references on early settlers, Charles Shipman built a house about 1880 and “Filo” had build two small dwellings prior to 1873. Anyone know where these structures were located? Does anyone know the whereabouts of any living descendants of Charles Shipman’s 100 apple trees?

Written by: Dan Baldock at Dallas, Texas. Summer Resident Downie Island. Please e-mail any corrections, additions or omissions!

Reference material for this note was compiled from the “must have” book for your Island collection…The First Summer People: The Thousand Islands 1650-1910 by Susan Weston Smith, Stoddard Publishing Co. Ltd, 1993. (Current edition printed by Boston Mills Press Book 132 Main Street, Erin Ontario)