Wilson Harbor

The shelter and beauty of Tuscarora Bay have attracted settlers, merchants, and vacationers since the early 1800s, and although the focus of that attraction and even the shape of the bay changed over time, Wilson Harbor remained a vital Lake Ontario port. In the early years, ideal harbor conditions supported resource extraction, with oak logs shipped to England in 1817 to build warships, the steamboat Ontario making the first visit that year, Wilson becoming a port of entry in 1848, Luther Wilson building the first piers in 1846, and shipbuilding and logging dominating from 1845 to 1875. Schooners and other vessels built here included the R.F. Wilson, Niagara, Emblem, Almira, Forest, Enterprise, Josephine, Bell Adkins, Active, Meteor, Fleetwing, Eureka, Pilot, Live Oak, Trader, Plowboy, and Union. By 1891 the harbor was shipping apples, peaches, grapes, grain, wool, lumber, and coal after the great oak forests had been depleted. From 1875 to 1920 the harbor became a resort center of hotels, cottages, and excursion traffic, with the Pittsburgh Hotel built in the 1890s, the Olcott Beach Hotel built in 1900, Jacob Miller improving Maple Grove Park as a cottage community in 1905, and steamers and charter boats bringing large numbers of visitors from Toronto in 1894 and 1895. Shore erosion and flooding caused the east branch to break through to the lake around 1900. In the modern period, the harbor continued to evolve with steel and concrete piers and the Boathouse Restaurant opening in 1950, Wilson-Tuscarora State Park being established in 1960, sport fishing dominating harbor activity by 1980, boat launch and docks being built at the state park in 1990, and the Wilson Boathouse being remodeled along with a new community center and marina in 1999; marinas, camps, and pleasure craft now define the harbor’s present use.

Wilson, New York · United States