Middle Island (Canada)
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Middle Island is the southernmost point in Canada, located at 41°41'N, 82°41'W, which is about 41.7 degrees north latitude. It lies in Lake Erie, just south of Pelee Island, which is more well-known as it is a popular vacation destination.
Middle Island is uninhabited by humans, as it has been set aside by the Canadian government as a bird sanctuary. The most common species there are cormorants, though several others also nest there. It once was the site of a lighthouse. Despite its lying in Canadian waters, for many years the island was privately owned by various Americans.
The island is further south than even Boston, Detroit, or Rome, Italy, and 27 U.S. states extend further north than this outpost of "the Great White North", including 13 which are entirely to its north (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska).
During Prohibition, this island was a drop off point for alcohol to enter the United States in fast boats going toward the north shore of Ohio in Lake Erie. Currently, there is not an airport or airstrip, but in the past probably not later than the 1950s[citation needed], there was an airstrip of about 900 feet in length. The runway ended in water at both ends of the runway.
There was at one time a stately mansion on the island, that it is rumored was a brothel at some time after Prohibition.[citation needed] There is only a remnant of the foundation left on the island.
The island had no physical improvements and had essentially become a nature preserve over the last ten years. Middle Island is zoned an Environmental Protection Area by the Township of Pelee, Canada Zoning Authority. The enactment of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has allowed all North American Investors to seek acquisitions throughout Mexico, the U.S., and Canada, no matter what their citizenship. Title insurance and escrow services for the sale were provided by the Cleveland Office of First American Title Insurance Company.
In what is believed to be the first successful sale of a foreign real estate asset by Open Outcry Auction in the United States, National Association of Realtors member Dutton Auction & Realty Co., successfully engineered the sale of Middle Island, Lake Erie, Ontario Canada. The auction was held at the Holiday Inn Cleveland, Ohio, airport Hotel. There were six bidders, each with cashiers checks for US$35,000 who registered to bid on the property. Four of the bidders were from the U.S., and two of the bidders were from Canada. The successful high bidder for the property was the Nature Conservancy of Canada who prevailed at a price of US$867,000 (C$1,312,000). The minimum bid for the property had been US$585,000.
Middle Island had been owned for the last thirty years by a family group from Cincinnati, Ohio. Title to the island was held by a corporate entity, Middle Island (Erie) Investments, Ltd. The ownership's decision to offer the property at auction rather than through a conventional negotiated sale was based on the fact that there were no comparable sales available for such an asset. Ownership did not know what to ask for the property. They were concerned that the marketplace would not be sure what to offer for the property without the use of an open outcry real estate auction.
