A history on the water in Gananoque, Ont.

GANANOQUE, ONT. -

Gananoque, Ont. is famous for its beautiful waters and place on the St. Lawrence River and a new museum is bringing that all to life.

The Thousand Islands Boat Museum teaches you all about it and you can even hit the water in a vintage cruiser.

The museum drives into the deep history of boating in the town, a floating dock museum, and it has more than 20 boats on display.

Susanne Richter is the executive director and she says almost all the boats were built right here in town over more than a century.

"What Gananoque has, what makes it very, very unique, is the history of the boat building that built this area," she explains.

The museum is meant to showcase that, she explains. 

"You can read about a local boat builder and look up and see his work floating in front of you," Richter says. "You see the evolution of watercraft, you see how the construction evolved to the boats that we have today."

Boats on display include a pleasure cruiser built in 1915, believed to be the oldest one in the water in Gananoque.

That history is the draw for Mel Vanderveken and her husband, travelling in from London, Ont.

"It’s nice to see that they’ve preserved so much of it because so much of history is gone, it can’t be restored," she says.

You can even take an antique boat out for a spin with a tour guide, who will teach you about the history of the Thousand Islands.

Richter says the museum is meant to be hands on.

"If we can encourage people and engage them in local history and take it a step further by getting them out into the islands and teaching them about the history that happened here then we’ve fulfilled our mission."

The project was partly funded by the federal department of Canadian Heritage as well as the Ontario government, through the Trillium Foundation.

Admission to visit the museum itself is by donation. Some exhibits cost about $10, while a private water tour costs more than $100.

The Thousand Islands Boat Museum is at 125 Water Street in Gananoque, and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.