The majority of settlements on Cow are located on the north and west parts of the island, as much of the east is marsh, and cannot be easily accessed by boat.

It was renamed Jubilee Point in 1887, by steamboat entrepreneur Henry Calcutt, to honour the 50th anniversary of Queen Victoria's reign.

This refers to the hunting grounds on the southern shore where native peoples burned the vegetation each spring to encourage the growth of a type of grass relished by deer.

The Mississaugas, according to records "by a provisional treaty signed on November 5, 1818, and later confirmed, surrendered a large tract of land to the British Crown, including the Otonabee region."

Robert Alder, English secretary of the Wesleyan Missionary Society) were established in 1829 and 1837, respectively, the colonial government referred to the Rice Lake islands by number.

Around 1867, according to Registry Office records, the superintendent-general of Indian Affairs, on behalf of the Crown, began to sell the Rice Lake islands.