Welcome to the home of the 1000 Islands!

Visit us in the heart of the 1000 Islands!
Welcome to the home of the 1000 Islands!
Visit us in the heart of the 1000 Islands!
Rockport invites you to visit our village and surrounding area and we are confident you will enjoy your time. Come and discover this well kept secret jewel of the St. Lawrence River. Check out our business directory to see the full extent of things to do and see in Rockport. The community and businesses invite you to use the many benches located around the village and take time out to do nothing but soak up the sun and the view.
September is the perfect time to visit Andress Boat Works & The Village Shop.
Two Artists we are proud to bring to you, in person are here:
Potter Barb Bakker- Try your hand at throwing on the wheel.
Author Catherine Schmuch - Ship to Shore Cook Book plus new Children's Book signing books and sharing stories
Food Bank Drive!!
Please help us with our first Fall Food Bank Drive at Church of the Redeemer in Rockport on Saturday Sept. 16,2023 from 8am to 4pm
Summer is over and we welcome back Cafe Redeemer.
The 2nd Thursday of each month we gather in the Redeemer Church Hall for a guest speaker on a variety of topics.
This month’s speaker is Connie Zern of Beyond the Arbour.
Connie will demonstrate how to create a Pumpkin arrangements and fall gardening tips.
GRENADIER ISLAND GOLF TOURNAMENT!
September 16, 2023!
Details on poster.
Phone Dianne at 613-802-8606 to register!
Come to the Rockport Customs Park on the riverfront to enjoy and evening of music with Tim Hallman and friends from 6:30-8:30 on the following date:
July 19
Admission is FREE, but donations welcome!
Bring your own chair and friends!
by Lorraine Payette, written April 23, 2014
(Gananoque, Ontario)
It has all the elements of a Hollywood movie – the richest man in town married a woman nearly 40 years his junior just 2 ½ months after the death of his first wife. Less than two years later, he died, disinheriting his family and leaving his new wife his entire estate. A trial ensued to try to undo the will, but in the end, she won everything…
Welcome to Rockport, Ontario, in 1907. Charles Cornwall is a very influential member of society. Owner and operator of the general store, he ran for office and sat on council for 20 years as well as being a notary public. He owned much of the land in the area and parcels on several islands, as well as being a major employer in Rockport. He and his famiy were well known throughout the area, and Charles amassed an incredible amount of wealth.
Brian Phillips, local historian, presented the story of the scandal in his inimitable way at the meeting of the Gananoque Historical Society in April. Using photographs and other evidence gathered by carefully sifting public records and private accounts, as well as interviewing remaining relatives and others familiar in any way with the principle parties, he has brought together a fascinating account of this scandal from the past century.
“Charles Cornwall was a very busy man, the founder of Rockport, one of my few heroes of Rockport,” said Phillips. “He owned all of Cornwall’s Point, plus bits of land all over the islands and right over onto the American side. He gained a lot of his wealth through real estate transactions, which he was doing in the background along with a lot of his other businesses. His story was one that needed to be told.”
In 1848, he married his first wife, Mary Anne Dollinger. Although they had a happy relationship, time takes its toll, and in their twilight years her niece, Louise Bush Griffin and her son, James Driscoll Griffin, moved into the house where Louise looked after the aging couple. When Mary Anne died in 1905, Louise married Charles and stayed on with him until his death in 1907. Even though they were married, she is mentioned as still referring to him as “Uncle Charles”.
At the time of their marriage, Charles was 81 while his bride was a mere child of 42. Only a month after the death of his first wife, Charles conveyed all of his real property to Louise. Six weeks after their marriage, he changed his will to leave her everything. Although they married in 1905, the marriage was registered in May of 1907, several months after his death.
Charles’ nephews, the Cornwall brothers, were livid. They immediately went to court, trying to overturn the will and get rid of the usurper. However, they weren’t likely to mention that collectively they owed their uncle $30,000, a small fortune at that time, and that none of them had made any effort to return this money to Charles. They simply wanted the rest of what he had as well, an estate valued at $100,000 – equivalent to millions of dollars in today’s money.
The Cornwalls’ house is now Cornwall’s Pub, and the general store that he ran is still in existence as the Boathouse Country Inn. Signs of the Cornwall’s can be found throughout the community. Louise went out of her way to make sure that all that Charles had established remained in good running order for future generations to enjoy.
“The trial ended on the 17th of January, 1908,” said Phillips. “I have tried to attain the transcript of that trial, tried very hard, but I’ve not been able to do that. I tried through the Brockville court system and through the Ontario archives. I’ve come up with some legal documents, but never the transcript. That transcript would be absolutely fascinating, to be able to read all the true details of what happened in that courtroom and see how people felt. At the same time, you’d be learning a tremendous amount about what Rockport was like at that time.”
To book a presentation of the programme and to learn more about this scandal from the past century, contact Brian Phillips at brian.phillips@outcraft.ca . To learn more about the Gananoque Historical Society, please call 613-382-2282.
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New pictures added to our archives... if you have any pictures to add, send them to rockportthousandislands@gmail.com
Visit Rockport, Ontario in the heart of the 1000 Islands! Take a cruise, get service at the marinas, visit our local shops and artists, and get a bite to eat!
Rockport, Ontario