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28-520: The Kingston Marine Museum was incorporated by letters patent on August 29, 1975 with objectives to collect, conserve and display artifacts related to Great Lakes marine history, shipping and shipbuilding, construct an exhibition area for special exhibitions of both marine and non-marine character, encourage public participation in events and activities, develop a marine resource centre of archival material, books, publications, ephemera and items to permit research activity related to Great Lakes marine history by

56-829: A Kingston Warships 1812–1814 exhibit for the War of 1812 bicentennial). The six permanent galleries include the Donald Page gallery which examines several stories including the Age of Sail on the Great Lakes, life as a sailor and changing ship technology. This room used to be the Air Compressor and Tool room of the shipyards. The newest gallery, the Eco gallery, explores issues such as pollution, water diversion and conservation, invasive species and sustainable development as they relate to

84-427: A Masonic Lodge. The library was referred to as a "Mechanics Institute" which carried over 6,000 books as a result of a Carnegie Endowment. The island was so self-contained, that it utilized its own currency. In the panic that ensued after a recession, rather than laying off employees, Calvin instead chose to reduce wages to maintain constant employment for all. In keeping with his own personal beliefs of abstention,

112-597: A shallow ocean covered the area and deposited eroded sediment. Ending approximately 10,000 years ago, the Wisconsinian glacier deposited the remaining overburden in the Frontenac Islands, including Garden Island. This, the last period of glaciation in North America, transported large amounts of eroded Paleozoic and Precambrian rock from the north and deposited over the bedrock surface. The mass of

140-430: A ship's working life to shipwreck or retirement. The museum future was clouded by the 2016 federal government decision to sell the property and resulting new landlord Patry Inc. requiring the museum to vacate the facility to allow for residential re-development. The museum galleries closed and the collections were moved into storage until the museum could find a new property to reopen to the public. The marine museum office

168-480: A shipping and lumber operation based on the island. There was small industry consisting of timber transported to the island on ships and then assembled into large rafts that were floated down the Saint Lawrence River to Quebec City for transport to Britain . Now somewhat of a ghost town , few remnants of the original village exist. The history of the former shipyard is the subject of an exhibit at

196-570: Is a list of National Historic Sites ( French : Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada ) in Kingston , Ontario . There are 22 National Historic Sites designated in Kingston, including the Rideau Canal which extends from Ottawa and traverses 202 kilometres (126 mi) to Kingston. The following sites are administered by Parks Canada : Bellevue House , Kingston Fortifications ,

224-556: Is an island in the municipality of Frontenac Islands , Frontenac County , in Eastern Ontario , Canada. Part of the Thousand Islands , it is located in the Saint Lawrence River , approximately 2 miles (3 km) south of Kingston , northwest of Wolfe Island , and is 30.75 hectares (76.0 acres) in size. From the mid-1830s to around 1914, Delino Dexter Calvin and, later, his son, Hiram Augustus, operated

252-714: The Great Lakes , the Kingston Dry Dock was constructed in 1890 by the Canadian federal government in what had been the local riding of Canadian prime minister Sir John A. Macdonald . Opened in 1892 by the Department of Public Works as a repair facility for lake vessels, the drydock provided dry working access to the ship below the waterline. MacDonald would live long enough to see the $ 344,276 project targeted with allegations of political patronage after

280-675: The Marine Museum of the Great Lakes in Kingston. The geology of Garden Island is consistent with Wolfe Island and Howe Island as they are all part of the Township of Frontenac Islands. The bedrock of the island consists of metamorphic and igneous Precambrian rocks, which are part of the Frontenac Terrane of the Central Metasedimentary Belt. This is consistent with a significant amount of

308-540: The Second World War naval vessels, notably corvettes , were built in this dry dock. The site consists of a solid limestone 1891 main building which houses the drydock pumps and engines, an annex building added in 1915 and a smaller free-standing building added in 1938. The shipyard's distinctive square stone chimney stands 90 feet above the downtown city waterfront. The Museum consists of seven galleries. The temporary gallery features changing exhibits (such as

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336-556: The British (commonwealth) system which enabled shipping to Great Britain. Vertically integrated, Calvin arranged shipment via company offices in Liverpool and Glasgow . The rafts were fastened together into units called "drams" that could be as large as one-half mile in length. In the early timber days, the rafts were powered either by sail or by the men using long oars known as "sweeps". The men, usually French-Canadians, would guide

364-543: The Great Lakes in the 1990s. Archaeological exhibits commemorating the War of 1812 on the Great Lakes were added for that war's bicentennial. Publications of the museum include "FreshWater", a journal of Great Lakes marine history, a "Jib Gems" museum newsletter and several books on local marine history. Extensive archives and collections are maintained with the assistance of Queen's University , documenting 19th and 20th century Canadian Great Lakes marine heritage and ships and shipping from vessel design and construction through

392-518: The Great Lakes. The Shipwreck Gallery leads from the early days of wooden ship building through to the construction of modern "Lakers". This room used to be the shipyard's Dynamo room. The Calvin Gallery covers Garden Island, where the Calvin family ran a shipbuilding and logging business and includes stories from Kingston's maritime past. This used to be the shipyard's boiler room. The Pump Room explores

420-641: The March 5, 1891 Canadian election . As he suffered a series of strokes in 1891, one of which proved fatal on June 6 of that year, he would never have the opportunity to see the facility open and in operation. The original 85.3 metre limestone dry dock was lengthened to 115.2 metres using concrete and leased in 1910 to the Kingston Shipbuilding Company; private companies would operate the Kingston Shipyards until 1968. During

448-520: The Rideau Canal and Shoal Tower (identified below by the beaver icon [REDACTED] ). Fort Henry and Fort Frontenac were both designated in 1923 and were the first sites designated in Kingston. Numerous National Historic Events also occurred in Kingston, and are identified at places associated with them, using the same style of federal plaque which marks National Historic Sites. Several National Historic Persons are commemorated throughout

476-590: The William Penn and the Hannah Counter. In 1862, Calvin's company purchased the entire island. To conduct operations on the island, a small community of about 750 people resided on the island, mostly workers in Calvin's companies and their families. The island included three streets: Broadway, Fancy Street and Blanchette Avenue. Houses were built by the company and rented to workers and their families. As

504-470: The city in the same way. The markers do not indicate which designation—a Site, Event, or Person—a subject has been given. National Historic Sites located elsewhere in Ontario are listed at National Historic Sites in Ontario . This list uses names designated by the national Historic Sites and Monuments Board, which may differ from other names for these sites. Garden Island, Ontario Garden Island

532-561: The complexity of operating a shipbuilding dry dock. The pumps and engines in this room were used to drain the dry dock and move the dock's caisson gate. The Kingston Drydock buildings were converted into a year-round museum in the 1970s; Canadian retired Coast Guard ship CCGS  Alexander Henry was decommissioned in 1985 and added to the site in 1986 as a museum ship . Displays cover Great Lakes shipping since 1678; artifacts and exhibits include ship's models and engines , relics and instruments of lake vessels under both sail and steam,

560-470: The drydock pumps and engine room of the original factory, glass and china salvaged from Great Lakes shipwrecks, ship's bells , anchors , binnacles , navigational instruments and equipment, a gallery of artistic paintings about the sea and the history of the Calvin and Son shipyard which once employed 700 workers on Garden Island . The museum has photographed historic shipwrecks at risk of being hidden by encrustations of zebra mussels which infested

588-579: The geology of Frontenac County . The metamorphic rocks, were deposited as sediments and consolidated into sedimentary rocks at least 950 million years ago. The combination of a deep burial of sedimentary rocks and the penetration of magma which resulted in igneous rocks. Erosion then revealed the metamorphic and igneous rocks. The metamorphic rocks that are found in the area include: schist, gneiss, amphibolites, quartzite, and marble. The igneous rocks found include: quartz monzonites, granites, diorites, gabbro, diabase, and andesite. About 500 million years ago,

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616-577: The ice from the glacier induced a downward force which enabled the Atlantic Ocean to flow inward creating what is called the Champlain Sea . In 1844, Delino Dexter Calvin , an American businessman, rented space on Garden Island to conduct his timber exportation business as the location was ideal as it provided a sheltered bay for building rafts of timber and for access to retrieve the bound rafts. Further, it allowed Calvin to operate within

644-412: The island community grew, so did their needs. Garden Island soon included a butcher, baker and a general store that sold dairy farmed on an island dairy farm. In 1867 telegraph wires dotted the island, and in 1890 the telephone arrived. Calvin was a generous benefactor to his employees, subsidizing a school, a library, post office, and several fraternal societies: a Temperance society, an Orange Lodge and

672-492: The island embraced prohibition. As timber resources dwindled in the Great Lakes region, the mainstay of Calvin's business retreated similarly. By 1921, the population of Garden Island had dwindled to only four residents. The island's "village status" was renounced and it was placed under the Township of Wolfe Island . The island is owned today by descendants of Calvin who use it as a summer retreat. The ferry from Wolfe Island offered service to Garden Island until 1976 when it

700-473: The public, students, researchers and historians and to develop educational programs. The museum was originally located in the 1892 Kingston Dry Dock , a national historic site in Kingston , Ontario , Canada,. It should not be mistaken for Kingston Royal Naval Dockyard , which was a British naval base and home of the then Provincial Marine . Once an important construction and repair facility for ships on

728-477: The rafts through the currents of the St. Lawrence to Quebec, a trip that could last over a month. Later, the rafts would be guided by tug-boats. To subsidize timber activities and stabilize employment of his company men, Calvin started a lucrative shipbuilding business on Garden Island. In 1836, the first vessel was built for the timber trade, the 140-ton Queen Victoria . In 1837, two more 140-ton ships were constructed,

756-585: The waterfront redevelopment of Port McNicoll, Ontario fell through, the museum received the Edwardian era - steamship SS  Keewatin as a donation which had been a staple on the Port McNicoll waterfront. Keewatin arrived at Kingston on October 26, 2023. The ship opened for tours in May 2024. List of National Historic Sites of Canada in Kingston, Ontario Download coordinates as: This

784-711: Was moved to 53 Yonge Street. In 2019 the museum received a donation from an unknown source, and repurchased the property after the re-developer could not come to agreement with the city on a residential high-rise. The museum plans to reopen after refurbishment and renovation. The museum was renamed the Great Lakes Museum in September 2023. Since the closure of the museum, Alexander Henry was stored elsewhere and later transferred to Lakehead Transportation Museum in Thunder Bay , Ontario. However, after plans for

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