Manitoulin Island and the Town of Little Current

Thursday August 16th we pulled anchor and left Baie Fine for Manitoulin Island and the Port of Little Current.  Manitoulin Island is a Canadian lake island located in Lake Huron.  It is the largest fresh water island in the world, with 108 freshwater lakes within the island itself and 4 major rivers.  Archaeologists have found remains of indigenous peoples on the island dating back to 10,000 BC.  The name Manitoulin means "cave of the spirit" in Ojibwe.  This name comes from the underwater cave located on the island and the great spirit that is said to live there.  The island is sacred to the indigenous people and today is the site of the administrative office of the Sheshegwaning First Nations band government.

The lumber industry is what powered this area in the North Channel and the town of Little Current grew and prospered due to lumber and fishing.  During the 1800s and early 1900s Little Current was the top lumber producer in the region with 3 large lumber mills employing hundreds of men.  The first mill was constructed in 1874 and was followed by a large mill, the Red Mill, in 1886 on what is now Low Island.  Two additional mills soon followed in town. Trade in lumber and fish made Little Current quite a site with mills running at capacity 24 hours a day and steamships constantly coming and going. 

Remains of the Red Mill on Low Island

A bird-cage lighthouse was built in 1866 to help guide ships coming into the Port of Little Current.  The North Channel's narrowest portion is the 150 meter wide passageway running between the community of Little Current on Manitoulin Island on the south side and Goat Island on the north side.  Little Current gets its name from the swift currents that can sometimes flow through this narrow passage.   In 1913 the Little Current Swing bridge was built to bring trains onto the island.  It opened to automobiles in 1945 and remains the only road bringing auto traffic onto the island.  It is one lane and opens on the hour for boat traffic to pass through.

Little Current Swing Bridge open as a boat passes through (as seen from the back of Southern Style)

Captain Keith and I biked to the bridge and over it.

Here is downtown Little Current as seen from the Swing Bridge.  You can see the large cruise ship at the docks downtown.

Little Current Lighthouse

Exact replica of the original bird cage style from 1866

Strawberry Island Lighthouse on the island just east of Manitoulin

Turner's general store has been in business at this location in town since 1879.  They have a bit of everything.  I found a cool book about shipwrecks of the North Channel in the store.

Turner's Store

 The Anchor Inn Hotel has been here since 1888.  It now is a restaurant and houses the daily cruisers net broadcast at 9 AM during July and August to keep boaters informed of happenings around the area, weather, bear incidents etc.

Anchor Inn Hotel

This is the Cruise Ship as seen from the back of Southern Style in downtown Little Current

There was a First Nations Dance Demonstration for the cruise ship

Little Current was a nice stop.  We had planned to stay just two nights, but added a third so we did not have to be rushed to see some of the sites and also do some errands.  I have also been working on some small quilts with fabric I have gotten while in Canada.  Here are two I have almost finished so far.

I Love Loons

We are leaving Little Current Sunday morning for several days of anchoring.  We probably will not have Internet until end of the week when we arrive in Gore Bay.  We will keep you all  posted as we can.