Ottawa (CYOW) → Potsdam (KPTD).
Everyone who looked at a map of North America and then looked up where Potsdam, New York is will know that I took a detour right at the beginning of our journey. Why? Because I lived in Potsdam for quite a while - just not in this Potsdam but rather in the German city of the same name!
1. Kemptville, Ontario:
We followed Highway 416 south and crossed Rideau River near Kemptville. The town was apparently founded by the Clothier family who constructed a lumber mill. Smart as they were they added grindstones so the community didn’t have to construct a separate mill for their grain or transport it to locations farther away.
2. Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge:
At this great suspension bridge which connects - who would have thought - Prescott, Ontario with Ogdensburg, New York we entered the United States of America by crossing the Saint Lawrence River.
3. Canton, New York:
When an American town is named after a town from Europe, Asia, Africa or Latin America it is almost sure to be named that way because of the settler’s ancestry. Not in the case of Canton, New York though! The reason for its use of Guangzhou’s old name was nothing else than the locals’ chief interest in producing and trading Chinaware.
4. Potsdam, New York:
And here we are, finally in the town of Potsdam, New York! As with Canton, New York, Potsdam wasn’t named after the settler’s origin place, too. It was rather named for its unique reddish sandstone which resembles the iconic sandstone buildings in Potsdam, Germany.
