Ship Island

Ship Island. . 'Ship Island' was located in the northeast corner of the present harbour. Originally some four acres in size, it served for over a century as a base for various shipyards. Over 100 ships were built there beginning in 1831. John Thornton and George Ault were the first builders. They were followed in 1852 by Henry Marlton and his son William who built almost 70 ships over the next 60 years -schooners, tugs and steamers, including the first car ferries ever used on Georgian Bay and the first life saving boats used by the Canadian Government in 1882. Spike Bermingham and 'Big' Bill Forrest then built a number of dredges and scows for their marine contracting business in the early 1900s. Bert MacDonald may have started to build small tugs there, but moved his operation to the east end of the bathing house on the south pier., In a fierce spring 'freshet' circa 1868, half of the island was scoured away, the gravel from which plugged the harbour basin. This event led to the Dominion Government declaring the port a ‘Harbour of Refuge’ in 1872 and allocating funds for dredging and realigning to the harbour's present configuration., The ownership of the alluvial island was disputed in a well-known court case between the Province of Ontario and Bill Forrest in 1933 where Forrest lost title to the island. It has since been determined by the courts that a Province may not own lands within a federal harbour., Reduced in size over the years, the island was declared to be a hazard to shipping and removed in 1962, with the gravel used as fill to create the base for nearby parklands. According to the late Donald Bert MacAdam, the island was removed entirely by suction dredge, with no blasting required. "In fact," he said, "there is still a ledge there; we catch anchors on it sometimes when moving freighters." ,