General
Info:
Pushing on from Gananoque, it's just 50km east to
BROCKVILLE
, an amiable little town of just 22,000 souls whose pride and joy is its grand main square, which is overlooked by the rambling
County Courthouse
and no less than three Victorian
churches
. Brockville was founded in 1785 by United Empire Loyalists, but takes its name from Isaac Brock, the Canadian general who was killed near Niagara Falls during the War of 1812. The
Brockville Museum
, 5 Henry St (mid-May to mid-Oct Mon-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 1-5pm; mid-Oct to mid-May Mon-Fri 10am-4.30pm; $1.50), traces the history of the town in entertaining detail. In particular, it features Brockville's role as a holding station for nineteenth-century immigrants who were -temporarily detained in enormous sheds on the waterfront Hospital Island. Other handsome Victorian buildings include
City Hall
and, to the east of the town centre,
Fulford Place
, 287 King St W (Wed, Sat & Sun 1-5pm; $2.50), a vast mansion built for George Taylor Fulford, who made his fortune with a cure-all remedy brilliantly -marketed as "Pink Pills for Pale People". However, most visitors skip the architecture in favour of a Thousand Island
cruise
with Brockville Thousand Islands Seaway Cruises (tel 613/345-7333 or 1-800/353-3157, fax 613/345-6454,
www.1000islandscruises.com
). They provide one-hour (May-Oct 1-4 daily; $11) and three-hour excursions (May-June & Sept-Oct 1-2 weekly; July-Aug 2-4 daily; $17), which sail west to cover pretty much the same itinerary as boats departing Gananoque
.
It's easy enough to complete the cruise and look round Brockville in a long morning or afternoon, but the
tourist office
in City Hall, at 1 King St W (mid-June to Aug daily 8am-8pm; Sept to mid-June Mon-Fri 9am-4.30pm; tel 613/342-8772), does have a complete list of local
accommodation
. Two reliable options are the plush
Royal Brock Hotel
, 100 Stewart Blvd (tel 613/345-1400 or 1-800/267-4428, fax 613/345-5402; $125-175), and the
Brockville Super 8 Motel
, 7789 Kent Blvd (tel 613/345-3900 or 1-800/800-8000, fax 613/345-3953; $60-80).
More Brockville travel guides (each guide contains specific sub-sections):
Brockville
