SOUTH BASS ISLAND is the largest and southernmost of the Bass Island chain, three miles from the mainland northwest of Kelleys Island, and named for the excellent bass fishing in the surrounding waters. Also referred to as Put-in-Bay (the name of its one and only village), this is the most visited of the American Lake Erie Islands, with its permanent population of 450 swelling to ten times that in summer.

Just a year after its first white settlers arrived, British troops invaded the island during the War of 1812. The Battle of Lake Erie (1813), which took place on the island's southeastern edge, is commemorated by Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial in a 25-acre park where the island dramati cally nips in at the waist. You can see the ten miles to the battle site from an observation deck near the top of the 352ft stone Doric column (May-Oct daily 10am-7pm; $3).

After the war, with the lake safe from Canadian invasion, South Bass Island grew both as a port (transporting cedar to the mainland for the construction of steamboats) and as a tourist destination. In the 1890s its Victory Hotel was one of the largest hotels in the world. Wine was also big business, though only one of its 26 vineyards survived Prohibition (by producing grape juice) - the Heineman Winery (tel 419/285-2811), 900 Catawba Ave. The winery tours include a glass of wine or grape juice (May-Sept daily 11am-5pm; $5).

All this history is well documented at the Lake Erie Islands Historical Society , 441 Catawba Ave, which features dozens of model ships, exhibits on the shipping and fishing industries, and memorabilia of life on the islands.

Despite the colorful past, and the island's undeniable beauty, visitors today may well be struck most by the hordes of boozers staggering between bars whose repertoire extends little beyond Jimmy Buffet songs

South Bass Island

• South Bass Island
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