The History of Middle Island, Ontario

Middle Island, Ontario, in the western basin of Lake Erie, is the southernmost piece of land in Canada and is seven miles east of Middle Bass Island, Ohio. It is readily visible from Pelee Island in Canada and from all of the four large islands in the U.S. Currently it is a nature preserve that became part of Point Pelee National Park in 2000, but most of its popular history deals with the lighthouse that was built in 1872 and the facilities and club that were built in the late 1920s and later operated by a Toledo gangster for a good part of the 1930s. Stories of its history deal with drinking, gambling, rum running and more, and the FBI was keeping track of activities there in the hope of finding wanted criminals hiding on Middle Island. The book also contains numerous less known stories about early boarding house and resort plans, a long-running feud between the lighthouse keeper and a U.S. game warden, the alligator captured at Middle Island and much more. In this book, you will find the most complete documented history of Middle Island yet produced, with numerous rare photos of the island never published before and great excerpts from the FBI Archives about activity there. Over a dozen of the best old photos of buildings and people have been colorized by the author.