Leeds and the Thousand Islands Leeds and the Thousand Islands Leeds and the Thousand Islands is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, located within the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville. The township is located along the St. Lawrence River, and extends north into rural hamlets and villages. Formerly, this township was divided into three separate townships: Leeds, Landsdowne and Escott townships; these townships amalgamated to form the current township of Leeds and the Thousand Islands. The township comprises the communities of Berryton, Black Rapids, Brier Hill, Cheeseborough, Darlingside, Dulcemaine, Ebenezer, Eden Grove, Ellisville, Emery, Escott, Fairfax, Gananoque Junction, Gray's Beach, Greenfield, Grenadier
Thousand Islands Railway build the line; that company already operated steamship docks in the village. The original line opened 1 January 1884. The company name was changed to Thousand Islands Railway four months later. A swing bridge over the mouth of the Gananoque River was constructed in 1894 to provide service to businesses on the east side of the river. The line originally served to carry timber and freight to Gananoque's docks, where it could be loaded onto ships. While available timber stocks soon diminished, passenger traffic increased as the Grand Trunk under Charles Melville Hays promoted the tiny town as a vacation