Thousand Islands the late 19th and early 20th century as part of the St. Lawrence Reservation, and were among New York's earliest land acquisitions for the purpose of preservation and recreational development. Among the larger parks are Wellesley Island State Park, which includes the largest camping complex in the region, and Robert Moses State Park. Passenger air service to the Thousand Islands region is available in both Ontario and New York. Watertown International Airport (ART) in Watertown, New York has daily service on American Airlines connecting through Philadelphia (PHL). Norman Rogers Airport (YGK) in Kingston, Ontario offers daily service on Air Canada
Thousand Islands in the mid-1990s with the arrival of zebra mussels, which feed on algae. The water is so clear in some areas that a rocky bottom can be observed in of water. The area has several shipwrecks, and although most of them are over underwater, some are a mere down and can be seen from the surface. Prior to European colonization, the Thousand Islands region was home to, or visited by, members of the Iroquois Confederacy and Ojibwa people. Their name for the islands was "Manitouana" or the "Garden of the Great Spirit". The region was a part of the War