Seeley’s Bay owes its existence directly to the construction of the Rideau Canal. The dams at Upper Brewers and Whitefish Falls flooded the 18 mile cranberry marsh as well as a ‘ravine’ on land owned by the Seeley family, thus creating a bay that lay within sight of the main road to Kingston. This road was little more than a track, suitable for sleighs in the winter, but often impassable for wheeled vehicles during the rest of the year. The Canal afforded a more convenient means of travel for personal reasons or for trade by canoe or boat. The proximity of these two essential means of transportation encouraged the beginning at a settlement.
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