Napanee

The first recorded settlement in the area of Greater Napanee is Ganneious, an Iroquois village, settled temporarily by the Oneida from approximately 1660 to 1690. The village was located on or near the Hay Bay area and is one of seven Iroquois villages settled on the northern shores of Lake Ontario in the 17th century. The exact location of the village has not been determined.

The area was settled by United Empire Loyalists fleeing persecution in the United States in 1784. The first Loyalists settlers landing spot (in Adolphustown) and site of the first Loyalist cemetery in the area has been preserved by the Loyalists.

The town developed at the site of a waterfall, the head of navigation, on the Napanee River where early industry could use the power potential of the river. The river transported logs from the interior north of the town. Sawmilling, gristmilling and other farm service industries were established. Gibbard Furniture (1835-2010) was at one point Canada's oldest furniture factory, operating beside the Napanee River for 173 years.

Napanee was first known as Clarksville after Robert Clark, who built a grist mill there. The town's most famous resident was popular musician Avril Lavigne.

• Town of Greater Napanee

Napanee is on Highway 401 (exits 579 and 582), about 2½ hours east from downtown Toronto and half an hour west of Kingston. The town's original business district was at the crossroads of Highways 2 and 41 (Dundas and Centre, respectively); 41 leads to Pembroke and the Trans-Canada Highway, the 401 bypasses 2 in the Windsor-Quebec corridor.

See also: Rail travel in Canada

• 🌍 Napanee station, 301 John St. The station, which dates to the original Grand Trunk Railway, operates as an unmanned shelter. It is one of two original 1856-era wayside stations still in railway use between Montréal and Toronto (the other is the restored station in Port Hope). (updated Oct 2023)
  • VIA Rail Canada, toll-free: +1-888-842-7245. Operates many intercity trains across Canada. (updated Apr 2022) Operates between Ottawa and Toronto including stops in Smiths Falls, Brockville, Gananoque, Kingston, Napanee, Bellevile, Trenton, Cobourg, Port Hope, and Oshawa. Operates daily.

• Megabus (Coach Canada). Service from Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ ^IATA). (updated Feb 2021)

A rural area on the Lake Ontario shore, west of Bath. A car ferry on Highway 33 links Adolphustown to Prince Edward County year-round. Like Prince Edward County, this region is agricultural and produces apples, strawberries and grapes.

• 🌍 33 Vines, 9261 Loyalist Parkway, ☏ +1 613-373-1133. Winery with on-site tasting room in a red former CN rail caboose. 
• 🌍 Bergeron Estate Winery, 9656 Loyalist Parkway, ☏ +1 613-373-0181. Winery and cider, tours available for groups of eight or more. 
• 🌍 Spring Meadow Orchard, 10143 Loyalist Pkwy (Hwy 33), ☏ +1 613-373-9313. Apples, fruit, vegetables, preserves, candy apples and apple cider doughnuts. Pick-your-own pumpkins. Pony rides on fall weekends. 
• 🌍 Wynn Farms, 8191 Hwy 33, ☏ +1 613-881-0303. Pick-your-own apple orchard, corn maze. 

A lakeside village established 1784 on the north shore of Lake Ontario, between Kingston and Adolphustown. Once a busy shipping port and centre of commerce, its role diminished as the York Road (1817), Grand Trunk Railway (1856) and the 401 freeway (1964) all bypassed the village in favour of Napanee. The Tragically Hip (a Canadian rock band) maintained studio space in the village.

• 🌍 Academy Gallery, 352 Academy Street, Bath, ☏ +1 613-352-5582. Art gallery and B&B open by chance or appointment. 
• 🌍 Bath Museum, 434 Main St, Bath, ☏ +1 613-352-7716. W-Su 10AM-4PM, Victoria Day to Labour Day. Historical museum covering Aboriginal times, Loyalist settlement and the War of 1812. Building was built in 1861 as a court house and was later the Bath town hall. Visitor information centre. 
• 🌍 Bath Sunday Market, Centennial Park, Main Street, Bath. Late May to mid-Oct: Su 9:30AM-2PM. 
• 🌍 Loyalist Cove Marina, 185 Main St, Bath, ☏ +1 613-352-3478, fax: +1 613-352-5209. Marina with fuel, pumpout, repair, boat storage, washrooms, showers, playground. 
• 🌍 United Empire Loyalist Heritage Centre and Park, 54 Adolphustown Park Road, Bath, ☏ +1 613-373-2196, toll-free: +1-877-384-1784. Museum, campground and day-use facility, established June 16, 1784 as the landing site of the first group of United Empire Loyalists under Major Peter Vanalstine. During the American Revolution, United Empire Loyalists were loyal to the British Empire; after the US fell to revolution, loyalists made their new home in Canada. 

A small village less than a mile across, built on a mill creek, midway between the centre of Napanee and Kingston.

• 🌍 Babcock Mill (Better Baskets by Babcock), 100 Bridge Street, Odessa. Historic 1856 woolen mill and water-powered saw mill, became a basket factory in 1915. The stone mill building on Mill Creek is now restored as a park site and museum. 
• 🌍 Odessa Fairgrounds (Odessa Agricultural Society), Main St, ☏ +1 613-386-3453, odessafair1912@gmail.com. Fair held one weekend in August. Public park on south side of Main Street directly east of Wilton Road $8/day, $20/weekend, plus $2-3 per ride. 

A tiny hamlet 8 km north of Odessa. Wilton Pottery studio used to operate in the former limestone public schoolhouse; its husband-and-wife owners have now "retired from being full time, career potters". Wilton has a horse tack shop in a 200-year old feed mill and a cheese factory whose wares are carried by local grocers for miles around.

• 🌍 Wilton Cheese Factory, 287 Simmons Rd, Wilton, ☏ +1 613-386-7314, fax: +1 613-386-1223. Daily 9AM-5PM. Independent village cheesemakers since 1867, specialising in aged cheddar. Watch the product being made (viewed through a window). Local and imported cheese, curds, specialty boxes.