Moulinette, Ontario

Christ Church, formerly located in Moulinette, now located in Upper Canada Village.

Moulinette is an underwater ghost town in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of Ontario's Lost Villages, which were permanently flooded by the creation of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1958. Families and businesses in Moulinette were moved to the new town of Long Sault before the seaway construction commenced. The village was located as a strip community along Highway 2, on the St. Lawrence River. At the time of the flooding, Moulinette had a population of around 311 residents.[1] The community would have been located in what is now South Stormont township.

Moulinette was settled in the late 1700s by United Empire Loyalists of the King's Royal Regiment from New York. In the nineteenth century many pioneer industries and businesses were established in the village. The origin of the name Moulinette is disputed; it is thought to have originated either from the French term for "little mill" as a reference to the many mills located in the village or from the French word "moulinet", meaning reel or winch as a reference to French ships who navigated the nearby rapids using winches.[2][1]

  1. ^ a b "Moulinette". The Lost Villages Historical Society. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  2. ^ Rutley, R. (1998). Voices from the lost villages. Maxville, Ont.: Casa Maria Publications.