Picton

Merged from two separate villages, the Picton we know today was
incorporated in 1837 and grew to become the County’s largest town
with a population of nearly 5,000. Canada’s first Prime Minister,
John A. MacDonald practiced law here as a young man. Dozens of century mansions line the quiet residential streets while fine heritage buildings make up Main Street.

A new appreciation of Picton’s architecture has spurred conservation and restoration that plays up Main Street’s historic facades while developing the businesses within.

The historic Regent Theatre, located on Main Street in Picton, has had
a rags-to-riches history.

Opened in 1922, it has alternately exalted and suffered through changes in the entertainment industry and the whims of its audiences - presenting both film and live shows through the years.

The historic Regent Theatre is the centre for the arts in Prince Edward
County, providing the community with a unique venue for live theatre and
music. A rare example of an Edwardian opera house, The Regent's stage is equal in size to that of The Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto.

Above the stage is a 21 metre (70 foot) fly tower. Original dressing room includes blackboards lining the walls where, in a former era, performers wrote their show's running order.

Designed by Toronto architects Warrington and Page for George Cook, The Regent Theatre opened its doors in February 1922 with the Canadian war comedy Mademoiselle from Armentiers.

In 1994 The Regent Theatre Foundation, a community based, not-for-profit organization, bought the theatre from the Cook family.

The Park covers approximately 4.5 acres of beautifully landscaped property nestled at the foot of "Macaulay Mountain". The Whattam's Memorial Walkway connects the site to the Macaulay Mountain Conservation Area and Birdhouse City.
Macaulay House, the Neo-Classic house was built in 1830 by the Reverend William Macaulay. In the truest sense, it was never a Rectory, as the Diocese did not own it. The restoration, furnishing and decoration of Macaulay House reflects the early 1850's, about the time of Reverend Macaulay’s second marriage, to Charlotte Levesconte, when major changes were made to the interior of their home.
The Friends of Macaulay Heritage Park volunteer countless hours to the care, interpretation, research and safekeeping of the Macaulay House.
This Anglican Church is the oldest church in the Town of Picton and one of the oldest in Upper Canada. In 1913, construction of a new, larger parish church was completed and old St. Mary Magdalene's was no longer home to the congregation. In 1970, the church building was deeded to the County of Prince Edward to be used as the County Museum. Today, the building stands in the centre of what was once the early village of "Macaulay's Picton". Anne Catherine Geddes, the Reverend Macaulay's first wife, kept detailed diaries of her life at Macaulay House recounting the running of the House and the descriptions of her gardens. Today the gardens have been carefully recreated according to Mrs. Macaulay's accounts. A small orchard has been planted with trees that were grafted with species of apples popular during the mid 19th century. This beautiful cemetery surrounds the oldest Church of England and Ireland in the Quinte area. Several of the headstones have been restored and/or repaired including those in the Macaulay Family Plot. Lofty Black Locust and Maple trees shade the cemetery. Also, Ripley’s Believe it or Not famous February 31st gravestone is located at this site.
Macaulay Mountain Conservation Area is located on 178 hectares
(440 acres). There are over 20 km of trails in the conservation area.
In the winter, the trails are used for cross-country skiing and in the
summer mountain biking and hiking. The escarpment is forested and
you'll find hickory, ash, oak and maple. This is a great birding area
frequented by ovenbirds, grosbeaks, woodthrushes and many, many more. Featuring a steep east-west escarpment rising some 40 metres above the local terrain. There is plenty to see here from famed Birdhouse City with its over 100 miniature reproductions of local buildings.

Trails explore lowlands, a limestone plateau, and a wooded escarpment featuring a climax deciduous forest and one unique colony of eastern hemlock. Wildflowers abound in the woods during spring and in summer nesting birds include red-eyed vireo, wood thrush, great-created flycatcher and ovenbird. The conservation area is named after the late William Macaulay, the son of a United Empire Loyalist, who donated much of the land where Picton is located today.

Bloomfield
Settled in 1799, the village was called Bull’s Mills after its water-powered
mills. By 1833 the community deserved the prettier name of Bloomfield.
Bloomfield was a Quaker stronghold with three friends’ meetinghouses.
The first Quaker school established in the 1840s became West Lake
Boarding School that still stands on the Loyalist Parkway.

There were water and steam powered mills, shingle and stove factories, a cannery, a cheese factory, a brick factory and more. Rich farmland made Bloomfield prosperous and its gracious past is preserved in Main Street’s fine red brick houses while the funky 1950s Mustang Drive-In, one of the last in Ontario, is part of Bloomfield’s 20th century history.

H.J. McFarland Conservation Area
In 1987, Mrs. H.J. McFarland donated this property in memory of her late husband and to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the H.J. McFarland Construction Company. Very active in local government, McFarland served the town as mayor from 1951 to 1970, and again in 1973. The 183 metres of shoreline offer a panoramic view of the county's bluffs and escarpments.
The conservation area also has a boat launch giving boaters access to Picton harbour and the Bay of Quinte.

Sandbanks Provincial Park
Giant sand dunes and golden beaches form two of the largest freshwater
baymouth sandbars in the world are here, on the shores of Lake Ontario.
Efforts to stabilize shifting sands disturbed by farming have revived
distinctive dune plants such as bluets, butterfly weed and sand spurge.
Trails feature dune stairs to protect this delicate vegetation.
The Sandbanks Provincial Park boasts three sandy beaches, Outlet Beach, Sandbanks Beach and Dunes Beach, among the largest and most beautiful beaches in Ontario, with golden sand and sparkling water.
Windsurfing, sailing, canoeing and boating compete with sunbathing and swimming as favourite park activities.

Cherry Valley
Though its Cherry trees perished in harsh winters long ago, “The Valley” is still one of the prettiest hamlets in the County. On the shores of East Lake, Cherry Valley built ships in the 1800s and one legend tells of treasure buried in the Outlet Sand Bar by French sailors fleeing the British in the Seven Years War. The village had a tavern, barbers, shoemakers, merchants and blacksmiths.
The last smithy closed his doors in 1964 after 56 years.
Now it’s a peaceful cluster of historic houses around a fine old church with newer houses and farms radiating outwards and lively holiday resorts along the lake.

Located at Point Petre and Point Traverse are Provincial Wildlife Areas. During migration season there are hundreds of species that have been observed which is why there is a bird banding station on the point.

Prince Edward Point National Wildlife Area provides a critical
place of rest for migrating wildlife. Songbirds, raptors and other
species gather by the thousands during migration to rest and feed
before they continue on their journey. There is a broad diversity of
habitat on the point, both on land and water, and food is abundant.
The north shore is made up of spectacular limestone cliffs.
The south side is low and has rocky beaches. The deep waters and shoals off the tip of the peninsula are used extensively by diving and sea ducks during migration and wintering. The interior is mainly grassland and scrubland, which was once used as pasture, but there are also ponds and small lakes, mixed forests and alvars that are rocky barrens, which develop on flat bedrock with little soil or vegetation.
During spring and autumn, Prince Edward Point is a vital concentration point for migrants along the lower Great Lakes. More than 300 species of birds have been recorded on the point, including songbirds, waterfowl, owls and hawks. In autumn, thousands of migrating hawks and owls take advantage of the open fields to hunt for rodents. Monarch Butterflies and various bats also pass through during migration. The area is a valuable sanctuary for bird species at risk that need grassland habitat. The point is also home to one of the largest concentrations of Eastern Garter Snakes in South-Eastern Ontario.

Salmon Point Lighthouse built in 1871 to mark an area of shoals
just offshore. The lighthouse had a relatively short life - about 60 years.
It wasn't one of the tallest on the lake, standing only a mere 35 feet tall,
but it just might have been one of the most important. Why?
Mariners had nicknamed this point "Wicked Point" being that it was such
a navigational nightmare when they rounded the western edge of Quinte Isle.

Check out the shipwreck map at the Prince Edward County Chamber of Tourism & Commerce.