KEY HARBOUR HISTORY
What an amazing place!
10,000 years ago Key Harbour was covered by ice. The glaciers scratched the 4 billion year old rock and left amazing potholes on our island.​
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First Nations lived in the area for generations and the history of nearby Dead Island tells us a lot about the mistreatment of the area's first inhabitants and their heritage. There is some good news about reconciliation now.
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In the early 1900s Key Harbour became a major shipping point for coal and then iron ore. And then coal again from 1938-1950. In the 1950s you could buy a train ticket from Union Station to Key Harbour!​​
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​​​​In 1953/4 highway 69 was extended to the Key River. Group of Seven member AJ Casson sat on the side of the new highway and painted "Morning on Key River."​​
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That same year my parents Fritz and Gunild Spiess who were new immigrants from Germany came and camped with friends on an island just outside Key Harbour. They purchased land in the Harbour in 1965.
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In 2018 the construction of the Henvey Inlet Wind Farm resulted in the Parry Sound 33 fire. The jack pines are rapidly regrowing along the sides of the Key. Luckily most of Key Harbour was spared from the fire.
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Key Harbour is often one of the windiest spots in Ontario. We can still see some pilings and the remains of the old cribs from the wharfs underwater. The old powerhouse building is still standing 100 years later. What an amazing place to have a windsurf & foiling school.
