The piers at Wilson were originally built out of wooden "cribbing" and filled with large stone, the work being done around the 1850's. Pier decking was comprised of wooden planks. During this period, and well into the 1990's, the piers served merchant schooners and excursion steamers to and from Toronto. Wilson was considered a prime resort destination for day-long and weekend trips. Visitors would picnic at Lake Island Park on the east end of Sunset Island, immediately to the west of this site. The park also included what is now Clark Island and the Clark family's private property to the south. The larger two-story ornate cottage standing on the east end of Sunset Island was constructed in the 1890's as part of the park. This large cottage was originally built as part of Lake Island Park, circa 1890. Commercial boat traffic also plied Lake Ontario and the waters around Wilson during these "Days of Sail" and in the later era of steamships. On approximately the area where the waste water treatment plant now stands, there were several store-houses in which timber and a variety of crops from Wilson's rich farmland (most especially fruits and grains) were stored for export on these ships. Lake Schooners, some of which were built at Wilson, returned with sawed lumber and other commodities while passenger,
steamers brought people to this lakeside resort. Commercial fishing of blue pike, sturgeon and perch continued on until the 1960's. Today Wilson Harbor is home to many charter fishing boats, as the State of New York stocks Lake Ontario each year with thousands of trout and salmon. In the 1950's, the federal government replaced the old wooden piers. The pilings of the old piers had been ravaged by lake storms and were rotting from age. They were replaced with new steel sheet piling. This piling was driven into the lake bottom with a pile driver, then torch cut level and filled with rock and concrete. There was no pedestrian access to these piers until 1964, when a small concrete walkway was added. More recently, the large access walkway you see before you was built. These new piers have protected the mouth of Twelve Mile Creek from lake storms and keep the dredging of silt down to a minimum. (Twelve Mile Creek's name is derived from its location of 12 miles from the mouth of the Niagara River.) Steam powered crane lifting a piece of sheer piling (Note pile driver leaning against the pier)
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