Prohibition

Rum-running During Prohibition

Hastings County was a major source of alcoholic exports during Prohibition in the 1920s. While production of beer and liquor was not illegal, sales of alcoholic products in Canada and the United States were against the law. Corby 's Distilleries Ltd. in Corbyville was a prime exporter. Small boats would load up with alcohol in Belleville harbour and sail for foreign ports, ostensibly Mexico or Bermuda.

Many of these shipments wound up in the United States, hustled across Lake Ontario by rum-runners in fast motorboats. There were various transfer points in Prince Edward County and on Main Duck Island. Liquor shipments made their way through the Welland Canal to Cleveland and Buffalo on Lake Erie, while some bold smugglers entered the United States through the Oswego and Erie canals to reach their customers. Other boatloads were "shortcircuited" back into Ontario after dark. Some shipments actually came back into Belleville harbour and supplied members of the Belleville Club.

Legal exportation by rail was ended by the courts in 1922 but many shipments continued, disguised as "scantling lumber" or other products. These loads were destined for Toronto and Hamilton where the alcohol was sold to local bootleggers.

When the Royal Commission on Customs and Excise found in 1926 that there was extensive illegal exporting, thanks to the connivance of border guards and customs officials, distillers began exporting their products to the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon. Since these islands were owned by France, which was not a party to Prohibition, the exports were legal. From there, liquor made its way to American ports such as Boston and New York. Beer, which was not so profitable, continued to be smuggled to ports around Lake Ontario.

The actual amount of alcohol produced in Hastings during Prohibition is unknown. Distilleries and breweries sometimes destroyed their records to avoid prosecutions and heavy fines.

Prohibition ended in Ontario in 1927 and in the United States in 1933.

Source: C.W. Hunt, a recognized authority on rum-running and author of Booze, Boats and Billions, and Whisky and Ice.

Booze by boat and by train

Fast motorboats on Lake Ontario evaded the Coast Guard and beat the liquor laws during Prohibition. Rum-runners (actually transporting whisky and beer) travelled the length and breadth of the lake in the roughest of weather to reach their thirsty customers. These were some of the routes from Belleville.

1. Route to the Welland Canal and customers on Lake Erie at Buffalo and Cleveland.

2. Direct run across Lake Ontario to Rochester, landing on either side of the city.

3. Indirect run via transfer point on Main Duck Island to Henderson Harbour, Oswego and through the Oswego and Erie canals to Syracuse.

4. The "short-circuit" route, serving customers in Ontario at Cobourg, Port Hope, Oshawa, Toronto, Hamilton and Niagara Falls.

5. Legal shipments to French-owned St. Pierre and Miquelon in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

6. Disguised shipments by rail to Toronto and Hamilton.