Amherstview is an unincorporated community in the township of

Loyalist, Ontario Loyalist is a lower-tier township municipality in central eastern Ontario, Canada on Lake Ontario. It is in Lennox and Addington County and consists of two parts: the mainland and Amherst Island. It was named for the United Empire Loyalists, w ...

. It is located on the north shore of

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...

and has a population of approximately 7,959 as of 2016. It is adjacent to the city of

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

and is considered part of the Greater Kingston area. Amherstview is named for

Amherst Island Amherst Island is located in Lake Ontario, west of Kingston, Ontario, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Amherst Island, being wholly in Lake Ontario, is upstream, above the St Lawrence River Thousand Islands. The island is part of Loyalist, Ontario, Lo ...

, directly to the south in Lake Ontario. When the community was first established in the 1950s, the spelling was generally "Amherst View". Amherst is a common place name found in many parts of Canada commemorating Lord Jeffrey Amherst (1717–97), Field-Marshal of the British Army, Commander-in-Chief in North America, and Governor General of British North America from 1760 to 1763. The community is the eastern end of the Loyalist Parkway, a stretch of Highway 33 that travels along

, in an area in which many

United Empire Loyalists United Empire Loyalist (UEL; or simply Loyalist) is an honorific title which was first given by Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester, the 1st Lord Dorchester, the governor of Province of Quebec (1763–1791), Quebec and Governor General, governor ...

settled. Amherstview is home to Fairfield House which is itself situated in Fairfield Park on the shore of Lake Ontario. Fairfield House was constructed in 1793 by the Fairfield family who were among the first Loyalists to settle the area. It served as the family home and a portion of the building was also used as a tavern for some time. The impressive wood-frame building is now a museum exhibiting period artifacts and furniture and offering guided tours. Since Amherstview is part of Loyalist Township, it has no legal boundaries. General boundaries are Lake Ontario to the south, the Canadian National rail line to the north, Coronation Boulevard to the east (the City of Kingston boundary), and Lennox and Addington County Road 6 to the west.

Infrastructure

Amherstview is home to the Henderson Recreation Centre. The centre houses a public library, a 25 m public swimming pool (currently closed for rebuilding), a skating arena and an outdoor soccer field. Amherstview is also home to the educational institutions Amherstview Public School and Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic School and Fairfield Elementary School, three elementary and middle schools composed of students in grades kindergarten through eighth grade. Public transportation between Amherstview and Kingston is provided by

Kingston Transit Kingston Transit operates the transit service in Kingston, Ontario, Canada as well as to the neighbouring community of Amherstview, in Loyalist Township. Major transfer points are at the Kingston Centre, Downtown Kingston (at the corner of Bago ...

Culture

Historic sites

*Fairfield House: completed in 1793, this is a house that was built entirely by hand by

William Fairfield William Fairfield (c. 1769 – February 6, 1816) was a businessman and political figure in Upper Canada. He was born in Pawlet, Vermont in 1769 or 1770, the son of William Fairfield, a farmer. His father fought with Edward Jessup's loyalist forc ...

. It is the best preserved 18th century dwelling in

Eastern Ontario Eastern Ontario (census population 1,892,332 in 2021) () is a secondary region of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It occupies a wedge-shaped area bounded by the Ottawa River and Quebec to the northeast and east, the St. Lawr ...

. In 1984, it was officially opened to the public and was visited by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

during the bicentennial of the Loyalists' settling of Amherstview. *Joshua Booth House: the Joshua Booth House is called Stonewatch because it was said to have been used as a lookout for

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

ships during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

. The builder, Joshua Booth, served as a sargeant loyal to the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

during the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, was one of the first settlers in the area.

Outdoor attractions

*Fairfield Park: located close to Fairfield House and includes Fairfield beach along the shoreline, which is a popular place to launch kayaks and canoes. It has a flower garden, picnic tables, playground equipment, and a trail/walking path. *Great Lakes Waterfront Trail: a 1600 km trail that passes through the community. The Amherstview Route is a trail throughout the community and the Odessa Route connects Amherstview with Odessa, Ontario.

Education

Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board

The

Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board (ALCDSB) is a separate school board in Ontario, Canada. The school board is the school district administrator for Roman Catholic schools in the western portions of Eastern Ontario, includi ...

is a

Separate school In Canada, a separate school is a type of school that has constitutional status in three provinces (Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan) and statutory status in the three territories (Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut). In these Canadian ...

board that serves the community. There is one school in Amherstview: Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic School. There are no secondary schools in Amherstview. Students within this school board are bussed to

Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School (sometimes abbreviated to HC, or HCSS) is a Catholic secondary school located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada offering education for about 1,125 students in grades 9-12. History The school was established in Sep ...

when in secondary school.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic School

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic School is a Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8 school and is located on Park Crescent. The school offers French Immersion for all grades. In the summer of 2024, the Ministry of Education approved the Board's request to proceed with the construction of a replacement school. The new school will be built on the current grounds, beside the existing school and will remain a JK-8 school that is dual track, French Immersion and English learning.

Limestone District School Board

Amherstview is served by the Limestone District School Board. There are two JK-8 schools in the community: Amherstview Public School and Fairfield Elementary School. There are no secondary schools in Amherstview. Students within this school board are bussed to Ernestown Intermediate and Secondary School in

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

when in secondary school.

Amherstview Public School

Amherstview Public School is a Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8 school located on Fairfield Blvd. The school was founded in 1958 and serves approximately 650 students. The school also offers French Immersion from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 6. The school mascot is an

alligator An alligator, or colloquially gator, is a large reptile in the genus ''Alligator'' of the Family (biology), family Alligatoridae in the Order (biology), order Crocodilia. The two Extant taxon, extant species are the American alligator (''A. mis ...

and the team name is the Gators.

Fairfield Elementary School

Fairfield Elementary School is a Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8 school located on Kildare Avenue. The school was built in 1973 and serves approximately 300 students. The mascot and team name for Fairfield Elementary School is the

Falcons Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Some small species of falcons with long, narrow wings are called hobbies, and some that hover while hunting are called kestrels. Falcons are widely distribu ...

Public library system

The

Lennox and Addington County Lennox and Addington County is a county and census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. The county seat is Greater Napanee. It is located in the subregion of Southern Ontario named Eastern Ontario. Around the middle of the 19th century, ...

public library system has five branches, including one in Amherstview, located within the W. J. Henderson Recreation Centre.

Fire and emergency services

Ambulance

Ambulance service in Amherstview is provided by Lennox and Addington Paramedic Service and Frontenac Paramedics.

Fire services

Amherstview has a fire station located in the community. The apparatus includes: *Pumper 941 – 2013 Spartan Metro Star / Dependable (1500/1000) *Aerial 941 – 2018 E-One 78’ HP Rear Mount Typhoon / E-One (1500/500) *Squad 941 – 2011 F-500 / Pierce Crew Cab Walk-Around Light Rescue *Utility 941 – 2009 Chev ½ Ton *Ice/Water Rescue Trailer *Chief 912 – 2018 F-150 Crew Cab *Inspector 901 – 2011 Chev Impala

Police

Policing in Amherstview is provided by the

Ontario Provincial Police The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is the State police, provincial police service of Ontario, Canada. The OPP patrols Provincial highways in Ontario, provincial highways and waterways; protects Government of Ontario, provincial government buil ...

. The Lennox and Addington County OPP detachment is located in

Health care

The Loyalist Medical Centre is located in Amherstview and is home to the Loyalist Family Health Team, who provide health care for the community. Amherstview does not have a hospital located in the community. The Lennox and Addington County General Hospital located in

Napanee Greater Napanee is a town in southeastern Ontario, Canada, approximately west of Kingston and the county seat of Lennox and Addington County. It is located on the eastern end of the Bay of Quinte. Greater Napanee municipality was created on Jan ...

serves Loyalist Township.

Kingston General Hospital The Kingston General Hospital (KGH) site is an acute-care teaching hospital affiliated with Queen's University located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Along with the Hotel Dieu Hospital (HDH) site, these hospitals form Kingston Health Sciences ...

and Hotel Dieu Hospital in

are close by. Amherstview is home to three nursing and retirement homes. The homes are: *Briargate Retirement Living Centre *Helen Henderson Care Centre *The Windsor Retirement Residence

Media

Print media

The ''

Kingston Whig-Standard ''The Kingston Whig-Standard'' is a newspaper in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. It is published four days a week, on Tuesday and Thursday to Saturday. It publishes a mix of community, national and international news and is currently owned by Postm ...

'' provides coverage for Amherstview.

Radio

A 100% volunteer-run community radio station, Island Radio CJAI 101.3 FM, serves Amherstview in addition to various media outlets in nearby

Television

''Global Kingston'' (

CKWS-DT CKWS-DT (channel 11) is a television station in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, part of the Global Television Network. Owned and operated by network parent Corus Entertainment, the station maintains studios on Queen Street in downtown Kingston, and i ...

) provides news for the community.

Sports

W. J. Henderson Recreation Centre

The W. J. Henderson Recreation Centre is located in Amherstview and the facility offers a 25-metre indoor swimming pool, a hockey arena and a soccer field. The Amherstview Jets of the

Provincial Junior Hockey League The Provincial Junior Hockey League (PJHL) is a Canadian junior ice hockey, junior ice hockey league spanning parts of Southern Ontario. The PJHL is the third tier of the Ontario Hockey Association and is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federa ...

play their home games at the arena.

Willie Pratt Sports Field

The Willie Pratt Sports Field is a multi-use sports facility in Amherstview featuring ball diamonds, soccer fields, a playground and other amenities.

Transportation

Air

The closest airport to Amherstview is Norman Rogers Airport in

. At this time, the airport does not offer regular passenger airline service. The closest major airport to Amherstview is the Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport located in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Bus

provides public transit between Amherstview and the Cataraqui Centre in

Roads

Highway 401

Ontario Highway 401 King's Highway 401, commonly referred to as Highway 401 and also known by its official name as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway or colloquially referred to as the four-oh-one, is a Controlled-access highway, controlled-access 400-series hig ...

passes through Loyalist Township, north of Amherstview. Lennox and Addington County Road 6 connects Amherstview with Highway 401 via exit 599.

Loyalist Parkway

Ontario Highway 33 King's Highway 33, commonly referred to as Highway 33 or Loyalist Parkway, is a Ontario Provincial Highway Network, provincially maintained highway in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. The route begins at Ontar ...

, commonly referred to as Highway 33 or the Loyalist Parkway, runs through Amherstview along the

shoreline. In 1984,

commemorated Highway 33 as the Loyalist Parkway at a ceremony in Amherstview in honour of the settlers that landed there in 1784.

Rail

Amherstview does not have a station, however, there is a train station closeby in

Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via (stylized as VIA Rail), is a Canadian Crown corporation that operates intercity passenger rail service in Canada. As of December 2023, Via Rail operates 406 trains per week across eight ...

's corridor connects Kingston along the main line between

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places *Detroit–Windsor, Michigan-Ontario, USA-Canada, North America; a cross-border metropolitan region Australia New South Wales *Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area Queen ...

and

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

. Kingston is a regular stop on train services between

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

and

as well as

and

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Notable people

Gord Downie Gordon Edgar Downie (February 6, 1964 – October 17, 2017) was a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, musician, writer, poet, and activist. He was the singer and lyricist for the Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip, which he fronted from ...

(1964 – 2017), singer and lyricist of the band

The Tragically Hip The Tragically Hip, often referred to simply as the Hip, was a Canadian rock band formed in Kingston, Ontario in 1984, consisting of vocalist Gord Downie, guitarist Paul Langlois, guitarist Rob Baker (known as Bobby Baker until 1994), bassis ...

(1769 – 1816), business man and political figure in

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...

* James Scott Macdonald (1896 – 1985), career diplomat *

Ryan Malcolm Ryan Michael Malcolm (born October 13, 1979) is a Canadian singer and realtor best known as the winner of the first season of ''Canadian Idol''. In 2003, he released his debut solo album ''Home (Ryan Malcolm album), Home'' which was certified Pl ...

(1979 – ), singer, winner of

Canadian Idol ''Canadian Idol'' is a Canadian reality television competition show which aired on CTV, based on the British show '' Pop Idol''. The show was a competition to find the most talented young singer in Canada, and was hosted by Ben Mulroney. Jon Do ...

season one *

Jay McKee Jay McKee (born September 8, 1977) is a Canadian coach and former professional ice hockey defenceman. He last played for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL), and was previously with the Buffalo Sabres and the St. Louis B ...

(1977 – ), professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player and coach * Nathan Robinson (1981 – ), professional

player * Mabel Van Camp (1920 – 2012), judge, first woman on the

Supreme Court of Ontario The Supreme Court of Ontario was a superior court of the Canadian province of Ontario. Created in 1881 pursuant to the Ontario Judicature Act (1881), the Supreme Court of Ontario had two branches: the High Court of Justice Division and the Appell ...

References

External links

amherstview.ca
{{authority control Populated places on Lake Ontario in Canada Communities in Lennox and Addington County