Grindstone Island is an island in

Big Rideau Lake Big Rideau Lake is a lake in the municipalities of Tay Valley and Drummond/North Elmsley, Lanark County and Rideau Lakes, United Counties of Leeds and Grenville in Eastern Ontario, Canada. The lake is on the border between the two counties, to ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada.

History

The island was used by

Charles Kingsmill Admiral Sir Charles Edmund Kingsmill, (7 July 1855 – 15 July 1935) was a Canadian-born naval officer and the first director of the Department of the Naval Service of Canada. After retiring from a career in the Royal Navy, he played a prominen ...

, the first

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

of the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...

, as his summer residence. The main lodge was built in the early 20th century around an earlier 19th century structure. During the 1960s and 1970s, after ownership of the site had passed to Kingsmill's daughter

Diana Kingsmill Wright Diana Kingsmill Wright (24 December 1908 – 24 January 1982) was a Canadian athlete, journalist and activist.
. Saskat ...

, the island was used in a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

programme for

training Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or Physical fitness, fitness that relate to specific practicality, useful Competence (human resources), competencies. Training has specific goals of improving on ...

nonviolence Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...

, and also as a co-operative

conference centre A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...

. In August 1965, the island was the scene for a role-playing exercise — later referred to as "the Grindstone Experiment" — in nonviolent

social defence Civilian-based defense or social defence describes non-military action by a society or social group, particularly in a context of a sustained campaign against outside attack or dictatorial rule – or preparations for such a campaign in the event of ...

.Theodore Olson and Gordon Christiansen: ''Thirty-One Hours: The Grindstone Experiment''. The Grindstone Press, New London CT, USA (1966). Online at http://kgsimons.org/grindstone (html, epub, and pdf editions) During the 1980s it hosted a summer camp for children. It is now used by

Archives & Museum Informatics __NOTOC__ Archives & Museum Informatics is a company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (and previously Pittsburgh, USA), that organizes conferences, and undertakes consulting, publishing and training in the field of cultural heritage, especially ...

for seminars and meetings dealing with issues concerning

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

and

information technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology system (I ...

. The summer camp in the 1980s was, and still is, an important part of the lives of many who attended. It was an accepting and diverse collection of kids mostly from Ontario in the Toronto to Ottawa corridor. Children played games such as the popcorn game and the survival game which taught them about the distribution of wealth and power in society and the natural world.

External links

Grindstone Island website

References

Lake islands of Ontario {{EasternOntario-geo-stub