The community of Manitowaning lies nestled in a picturesque bay side setting on eastern Manitoulin Island, ten miles from the North Channel - yesterday’s Voyageur trade route and today’s internationally popular cruising destination.

In 1836 a treaty was developed declaring the entire Island of Manitoulin as a Native Reserve.  The town of Manitowaning (originally termed "The Establishment") was established as a joint experimental project by Anglican missionaries and the Canadian government in an effort to achieve a settled agrarian life for aboriginals.  The mission (later deemed a failure and abandoned) steadily evolved through a revised treaty in 1855 that opened the Island to non-Native settlement, thereby establishing Manitowaning as the first European community and main shipping port.

Manitowaning means "Den of the Great Spirit".