The Founding of Killarney
Etienne Augustin de la Morandière, fur trader and founder of Killarney, settled here in 1820, when this locality, on the voyageurs' canoe route to the Northwest, was known as Shebahonaning ("narrow channel"). A substantial trading establishment, built by La Morandière on Drummond Island after the War of 1812, was destroyed by fire in 1817, and he moved here permanently after trading for a time at Flat Point, Bay of Islands. La Morandière raised crops and brought cattle to Killarney. Accessible only by water, the settlement grew slowly, though it attracted anglers and was once an active commercial fishing centre. The opening of Highway 637 in 1962 brought this previously remote village and Killarney Provincial Park, within reach of tourists.
Plaque via Alan L. Brown's site Ontario Plaques. Full page here.