Upper Canada Village

Hi Blog! Today is Friday, September 12, 2014. Back in Brighton, we asked our neighbors from the Ottawa area what should we see when we got to their neck of the woods.  They suggested the Upper Canada Village. As soon as we got into our campground, we looked it up in the tourist brochures. We learned that Upper Canada Village is a heritage park in the village of Riverside near Morrisburg, Ontario, which depicts a 19th-century village in Upper Canada.

Upper Canada??? I didn't know there was more than one Canada.  Is that like North and South Dakota? North and South Carolina? We had no idea, so we had to look that up, too.  You see, Upper Canada existed from December 26, 1791 to February 10, 1841 and generally comprised present-day Southern Ontario. The "upper" prefix in the name reflects its geographic position being closer to the headwaters of the Saint Lawrence River than that of Lower Canada/or present-day Quebec to the northeast.

Construction of Upper Canada Village began in 1958 as part of the St. Lawrence Seaway Project, which required the permanent flooding of ten communities in the area, known as The Lost Villages. Upper Canada Village was a part of the project's heritage preservation plan. Many of the buildings in Upper Canada Village were transported directly from the villages to be flooded.

We begin our journey back in time aboard a stage coach.

We arrive on the banks of the Saint Lawrence River in 1866. Here a local farmer is taking his plow to the blacksmith to have a broken part mended.



Upper Canada Village tries to depict life in a rural English Canadian village. There are 55 historical buildings, including several working mills (woollen mill, grist-mill and sawmill) and trades buildings (blacksmith, tinsmith, cabinetmaker, cooper, bakery, cheese-maker). Here is a look across a small bay to the town's church.

Farming is demonstrated through the growing, harvesting and processing of heritage vegetables and livestock. Here is the most modern house in the village.  It dates back to the 1850s.

We could have filled the entire blog with pictures of all the cute baby horses, sheep and cows, but you've all seen plenty of cute baby animals on Facebook. However, we just couldn't resist snapping a few photos when this guy began hamming it up!

All of the items you see in this photo were made in the village.  The tin smith made all the pots and mugs, the carpenter made the tables and chair, and the blacksmith makes all the iron work.  The village even has a shoemaker.  Everything is made as it would have been in 1866 following patterns and materials used at that time.

The cheesemakers make cheddar cheese just like they did back in the day.  Well, almost:  they are required by law to use pasteurized milk. However, everything else is just like it was done back in 1866. Samples are for sale in the gift shop. (Yes, we did bring some home with us - yum.)

Next we visited with a local spinster. She was busy spinning her yarn.  She had a really cool display on how the villagers dyed their wool using local plants and minerals.  She also had a few of the exotic minerals that only the rich folk could afford.

We thought Dave's sister, Leslie, would think this quilting table was cool.  As the village women work on the quilt, they can roll it out and roll it back again.

We had a lovely chat with the cabinet maker.  He's one of three woodcrafters making period pieces for the different properties.

Remember that farmer who needed his plow repaired, well by the time we got to visiting the blacksmith, he was busy forging the replacement parts.

Every village needs a general store and post office.



The tin smith was busy filling orders for coffee pots, tankards, dustpans and candle snuffers.

One of the more unique buildings was the Masonic Lodge.  Here is a peek inside, complete with three chairs for the masters.

Next stop:  broom maker.  I am sure the school kids were disappointed when they learned that these brooms can't fly.

We enjoyed chatting with the artisans working in the village. We took dozens of photos, but sometime a picture just doesn't tell the whole story.  Here is a small video of the lumber mill in operation.

Right next door to the lumber mill was the flour mill.:

After learning how whole wheat flour is turned into while flour, we went next door to learn how wool is processed.  Check out the woolen mill carding machines.  After the wool is spun, it is turned into blankets. You, too, could buy one of the blankets made at this mill for only $300.00. Hey, we are all for supporting the artisans who work here, but that is a little to steep for our pockets.

Here is a view of the canal that was created to power the mill district.

As we walked the streets of Upper Canada Village, we found ourselves comparing it to both Plymouth Plantation and Colonial Williamsburg. We came away feeling that the folks that work here are more than just reenactors. They truly love their crafts and like to share their skills, experience and knowledge.  It was definitely worth the trip.