Help Protect Carleton Island

The Friends of Carleton Island support the restoration of the Carleton Island Villa. We oppose the construction of a campground or “glampground” near the Villa. We believe the developer’s claim that construction of the campground is essential to financing the restoration of the Villa is flat-out untrue.

The Friends of Carleton Island have long supported the careful and respectful restoration of the historic Carleton Villa. We believe the restoration—if executed with integrity and sensitivity—can preserve a vital piece of Thousand Islands heritage.

However, we strongly oppose the developer’s recent clearing of trees and foliage to create space for a proposed campground near the Villa site. This proposal is a dramatic departure from the original plan to invest tens of millions of dollars in restoring the ruins into a luxury venue.

Carleton Island is zoned as a residential area within a special island district of the Town of Cape Vincent. While a historically appropriate bed-and-breakfast could align with the Villa’s heritage and the island’s character, a campground designed to host scores of transient campers would bring unwelcome nuisance, traffic, and environmental degradation. It is incompatible with the expectations and rights of neighboring property owners who value the island’s quiet, private nature as well as boaters who pull into North or South Bay to fish, swim, sunbathe or anchor overnight.

The claim that campground revenue could meaningfully fund the Villa’s restoration is financially implausible and appears to be a classic bait-and-switch tactic. This shift raises serious doubts about the developer’s credibility and ability to carry out his original restoration vision—let alone fulfill the commitments made to island and mainland taxpayers and Cape Vincent officials.

Despite this, we remain committed to supporting Villa restoration plans that respect the island’s environmental, historical, and cultural integrity, as outlined further on this site.

We believe the developer’s pivot from a promised luxury restoration to a campground-funded project is financially suspect.

The Friends of Carleton Island continue to support appropriate restoration—but not at the cost of the island’s environmental health, residential zoning, or historic identity.