Overview

  
Amherst  Island is one of the Thousand Islands in Lake  Ontario. The island is 66 square kilometers; 16.5 kilometers long and 7 kilometers at its widest point.

Amherst Island has  a population of about 800 people (including summer residents), and is home to approximately 500 white-tailed deer.  It is also along one of the largest bird migratory paths in the world.  The National Wildlife Federation has voted it one of the 100 best bird-watching spots in North America, one of only two such sites in Ontario.  Over the course of the year, it is home to an estimated 3 million birds.  In the winter it is home to rare snowy owls.  And in the summer it is home to long-eared and great-horned owls.  The  western tip of the island is home to the Kingston Field Naturalists.

History

The island was known by the French settlers as Isle  Tonti, after Henri de Tonti, who accompanied LaSalle during his explorations. The island was later settled by United Empire Loyalists and renamed Amherst  Island in 1792 in honor of Jeffrey Amherst, who was commander-in-chief of the British forces in North America. 

The early community was composed of numerous wealthy Loyalists, some late loyalists, and a proportion of French Canadian fishers. These settlers of the island frontier had been attracted by its accessibility; water was virtually the only transportation in the Loyalist period. The shoreline of the island was settled by the close of the 1820s. An Irish wave of immigration to the Island followed, with the population peaking at 2,000 in 1842. The island was a convenient stepping stone and almost urban in accessibility; its Estate policy encouraged temporary residency. Most settlers moved on to the frontiers of Ontario and the American Midwest. 

Today, Amherst Island is mainly agricultural.  It is also a very popular destination for naturalists, birdwatchers and cyclists.

More Information

Amherst Island, Ontario Web Site