Little Current

Little Current, Manitoulin's gateway community, welcomes travellers to the island. First settled in the late 1860s, Little Current soon grew into a major Great Lakes port. Until after World War I, the town's economy was based largely on lumber. During the 1880s and 90s, the town's docks were lined with passenger freighters, sawmills on the western waterfront employed hundreds of workers, and visitors crowded into the town's three hotels. Today, most visitors cross the town's most famous landmark: the swing bridge. Originally a railway bridge, the swing bridge was built in 1913 to link Little Current with the rest of northern Ontario. Freighters brought coal for shipment by rail to fuel the smelters of the north. Originally the bridge stayed open, swinging closed only when a train neared the Little Current station, so that the busy shipping lanes through the North Channel could remain open.

After the Second World War, the bridge was modified for vehicles and, during the 1980s, rail traffic ceased entirely. Now the bridge stays in the closed position, except for about 15 minutes on the hour in daylight during the summer, to let boats pass through the channel. The park land beside the Manitoulin Information Centre, adjacent to the bridge, provides an excellent vantage point from which to watch and photograph the bridge swing and the passage of the yachts through the narrowest part of the North Channel. In the summer the harbour is again crowded with boats, but now mostly pleasure craft. Each year some 3,000 boats, both power and sailboats, tie up at the town docks or at one of the marinas. Visitors to Little Current enjoy shopping along the downtown streets, strolling along the docks, and relaxing in the waterfront parks. Graphic sourced with thanks from http://continuouswave.com/north-channel/littleCurrent.html