COCKBURN ISLAND
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COCKBURN ISLAND |
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NAME: Cockburn Island COUNTY: Na ROADS: 2WD GRID: 1 CLIMATE: Snow in Winter, Warm Summer. BEST TIME TO VISIT: Summer |
COMMENTS:
A Ghost Island. REMAINS: Many original buildings. |
| Strange but true. Cockburn Island is a ghost island. Located just short of two miles off the western tip of Manitoulin Island, it was first settled around 1880 as a fishing harbor. In time, Cockburn Island grew to include several operating farms, a sawmill village on the southern tip of the island called Ricketts Harbor. For close to eighty years, the population numbered about three hundred residents all of whom had fierce pride in and allegiance to their island community. But it was the isolation that led to the island’s demise. It’s only link to the outside world was the service provided by two steamers. In 1963, the last steamer pulled away from the dock and that was the year the island’s tie to civilization was lost forever. Thus, the residents moved elsewhere but many retain their land out of love for their one-time home. Because of its isolation, many of the island’s original buildings still stand. Submitted by: Henry Chenoweth |
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