The primary centres of settlement in Loyalist are
Amherstview, Bath and Odessa. Smaller communities include Asselstine, Bayview, Emerald, Ernestown, Links Mills, McIntyre, Millhaven, Morven, Nicholsons Point, Stella, Storms Corners, Switzerville, Thorpe, Violet and Wilton. Since Loyalist Township is the only municipal level of government in the area, the boundaries of most
mainland settlements are unofficial and matters of tradition.
Amherstview Amherstview is named for
Amherst Island, located directly to the south in Lake Ontario. When the community was first established in the 1950s, the spelling was generally "Amherst View". The community is the eastern end of the
Loyalist Parkway, a stretch of
Highway 33 that travels along
Lake Ontario, in an area in which many
United Empire Loyalists settled. As of 2021, Amherstview has a population of about 6500. Amherstview is home to Fairfield House which is situated in Fairfield Park on the shore of Lake Ontario. Fairfield House was constructed in 1793 by the Fairfield family who were among the first Loyalists to settle the area. It served as the family home and a portion of the building was also used as a tavern for some time. The wood and limestone building is now a museum exhibiting period artifacts and furniture and offering guided tours. Fairfield Park itself stretches along more than 600 m of Lake Ontario shoreline. The park is a popular picnicking area and is also well used by swimmers and scuba divers. Limestone shelf rock formations leading into the water simplify the launching and landing of kayaks and canoes although suitable facilities for larger watercraft do not exist. The park is home to many species of trees including
red oak,
poplar,
willow,
shagbark hickory,
ash,
maple,
cedar,
linden, and
spruce. Extensive banks of
lilac provide flowers and fragrance in season and many of the larger trees in the park are fitted with strings of lights for display at Christmas. Amherstview is also home to the Henderson Recreation Centre. The centre houses a public library, a 25 m public swimming pool, and an arena and also includes an outdoor soccer field. The arena is the home rink for the
Amherstview Jets hockey team.
Bath Bath was first settled by the United Empire Loyalists in 1784, making it one of the oldest communities in Ontario. It was served by an early colonial road, the 1784
Bath Road, which follows the lakefront as the
Loyalist Parkway. Discharged soldiers from Jessup's Rangers were the first settlers. The economic development of the community was enabled by a sheltered harbour and road connections with Kingston stimulated economic development. By mid-century Bath was a prosperous point of trade. After the town had been divided up between the families of Hawley, Davy, Rose and Amey, it was John Davy who was first to lay down roads on his lot #10. By 1804 the whole village had been prepared for settlement and surveyed. The village was originally named Ernestown, but was renamed Bath in 1819 after the
city in England. A bustling lakefront manufacturing village with 400-1000 people in the 1850s, Bath began to lose industrial importance to
Napanee (and to cities like Kingston/Belleville) after being successively bypassed by the
York Road (1817), the
Grand Trunk Railway (1856) and the
401 motorway (1964). The closest rail access was an 1856
Ernestown rail station built to the west of
Camden East Road in a rural area, similar in design to
Napanee's historic station; it is now boarded up and inaccessible. The town of Bath as of 2016 has a population of 2,154. This is an increase of 10.1% from 2011 when they had a population of 1,957.
Odessa Odessa is a village located between
Napanee and
Kingston. It was originally named Millcreek, and was renamed in 1855 by its postmaster to commemorate the 1854 British siege of the Black Sea port at
Odesa in
Ukraine during the
Crimean War. The village is home to
Ernestown Secondary School, which services about 650 students from Loyalist Township (formerly Ernestown Township),
Napanee and
Stone Mills. The township offices and a fire hall are on Odessa's
Main Street. There is a small fairground. An
Ontario Provincial Police detachment serves
Ontario Highway 401 and is home to the
Tactics and Rescue Unit Eastern Region. The water supply of the community of Odessa within the Township of Ernestown was studied in 1972, which led to the planning of infrastructure improvements. The highest point in the village is the water tower. Visible for several kilometres in all directions, the water tower has been outfitted as a wireless communications facility. The village bills itself as "home of the Babcock Mill," which historically was powered by
Millhaven Creek which runs through the heart of Odessa, and comes out of
Odessa Lake. In the 2020s Odessa has experienced increased residential development which will ultimately see it approximately double in population.
Amherst Island Stella and Emerald are located on Amherst Island. Stella is the downtown, where the ferry docks are, and lends its name as the surviving Canada Post Office for Amherst Island. Emerald is a collection of half a dozen houses and a church towards the west end of the Island. Amherst Island is located about offshore from mainland Loyalist Township, and is serviced by a people, cyclist, automobile and truck ferry from Millhaven. Amherst Island was farmed for generations by Irish tenants who leased from an Irish Lord through his manager, and many
Islanders are descendants of those late settlers. Today the agricultural canvas has become an art colony, retirement/ cottage country, with active service groups, a radio station,
Amherst Island Radio CJAI 101.3 FM, and the LCBO convenience store, that all add to the Island's
frisson. == Demographics ==