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'Originally settled' by Asa Weller and family (hence the name), Wellers Bay actually has a long history of indigenous settlement and trade routes, including by the by Anishinabek peoples. In the days when the canoe bateau was the mode of transport, Lake Kente as it was then known, was an important body of water for trappers and First Nation tribes. In the early 1600's, the route of French explorer, Samuel de Champlain, skirted Wellers Bay. In 1668 Claude Trouvé and François de Fénelon, Sulpician priests from France, established the Kenté Mission to serve the Haudenosaunee on the north shore of Lake Ontario. The Cayuga Village (Consecon) that had requested the missionaries became the mission's centre, but this early outpost of French influence in the lower Great Lakes region was abandoned in 1680 as a result of the moving of the Cayugas, heavy maintenance costs, and the growth of Fort Frontenac as a major post. Years later, these routes were followed by the Haudenosaunee peoples and colonial United Empire Loyalists, and settlements began to emerge around the Bay. For a time, boats carrying merchandise and passengers that left Kingston and made their way, by oars, up the Bay of Quinte to the Carrying Place, were hauled (upon low wheels or trucks drawn by oxen) by Asa Weller, a tavern keeper, before continuing on their way along the shore of Ontario, to the destination of York (Toronto). In fact, Ontario's oldest road, Old Portage Road, is still commemorated and in use in Carrying Place. During the war of 1812, 2,000 soldiers were stationed in the area, and because of the strategic importance of the location, a block house was built in 1813 by provincial Dragoons In 1861, the Government of the Province of Canada had considered making Wellers Bay a 'harbour of refuge' and installed a lighthouse. During World War II, the beaches along the spit that separates the Bay from open Lake Ontario were used as a firing range for pilot trainees and has since become a Unexploded Ordinance (UXO) site. In 1978, the Wellers Bay National Wildlife Area was created. Subsequently, locals used to recreational and commercial use of that specific area clashed with government officials charged with the responsibility of protecting wildlife. The Canadian Wildlife, in 2011, announced that the beaches of the south section of spit would remain off-limits. The northern spit of land / barrier islands, however, are Crown Land. Accessible by boat (or a swim across a channel - please be careful!!), folks now enjoy the beach for camping and bird watching. |
Early fur cleaning tools
Early rice harvesting
Champlain's routing
Fort Kente commemorative plaque
Old Portage Road
Capt Stinson, 1st Reg of PE Militia
Proposed Harbour of Refuge
UXO - Unexploded Ordinance
National Wildlife Area
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FOWB Presents: Flashback February
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Prince Edward County's History Festival gave us another wonderful opportunity to sponsor an event in 2024, one that was both engaging and informative.
These events have been well attended each year by FOWB Members and the larger community. |
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2022 with Dan Buchanan
Select Stories of People from the Region: A History of the Carrying Place and Wellers Bay |
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