Thousand Islands National Park area to defend the British from American invasion. Inside the park, Cedar Island, a small island visible from downtown Kingston, Ontario, is the site of a Martello tower named Cathcart Tower. The park was established in 1904, the first Canadian national park east of the Rocky Mountains. It was called "St. Lawrence Islands National Park" until 2013, when it was renamed to "Thousand Islands National Park" to reflect the natural area in the name. In 1997, the park was named one of the national parks with the highest levels of ecological impairment. Animals that inhabit this national park are coyotes,
Thousand Islands Railway Street crosses the Gananoque River. The waterfront station became a restaurant after passenger service ended, but was destroyed by fire in 1990; the Arthur Child Heritage Museum was built on the site. The former right-of-way is readily visible on satellite imagery, and is now a hiking trail. The Gananoque Junction station remains on Station Road which is west of Hiscocks Road. Thousand Islands Railway The Thousand Islands Railway (originally Gananoque & Rideau Railway) was an long railway running from the town of Gananoque north to the Grand Trunk Railway (now CN) Toronto-Montreal mainline, just south of present-day Cheeseborough. The service