Sturgeon River House Museum & Wetlands Hike

Hi Blog! Today is Wednesday, July 22, 2015. After spending most of yesterday on the water, we decided a little biking, hiking and museum-ing was in order. Just around the corner is the Sturgeon River House Museum. We donned our hiking gear, packed a lunch and jumped on our bikes.

The Sturgeon River House Museum is located on an authentic Hudson's Bay Company trading post site on the west bank of the Sturgeon River, two kilometres from Lake Nipissing in Sturgeon Falls. The museum was founded in 1967, as a community centennial project. Here is a reconstruction of the original trading post.

The Sturgeon River House Museum is a community museum of Canadiana and natural history based in Sturgeon Falls, Ontario, Canada. Its mission is to promote and preserve the cultural and natural heritage of the population of the municipality of West Nipissing. They have the mandate of presenting the fur trade era from 1623 to 1879 and pioneer life in West Nipissing between 1878 to 1939, and also the cultural contributions of the three pioneer groups of the West Nipissing region (First Nations, French, English). Here is an example of the stockage fence that surrounded the trading post.

The first museum on this site was built in 1967 to preserve this historic property. In 2000, a new museum was built and many new exhibits were added.

Of course, the Museum focuses on the Sturgeon River and one of its most famous occupants - the sturgeon. Sturgeons have been referred to as "primitive fishes" because their morphological characters have remained relatively unchanged since the earliest fossil record. It does sort of look like a floating dinosaur.  Lake Nipissing is a world-class sturgeon fishery, but, because the species is threatened, sturgeon are protected from fishing in Lake Nipissing.  Locals tell of accidentally snagging sturgeon as large as 250 pounds!

Development in this part of Canada followed its natural resources. First came the trappers, then the loggers and then the farmers. The exhibit on the early logging history was created when the museum first opened in 1967. The craftsmanship and attention to details was very impressive. The exhibit was trying to teach history, but it was historic in its own right.

Many families in the area contributed photos and artifacts. Here Dave reads through the history of the people of West Nipissing.

Historic Sturgeon Falls was not without its conveniences. A local logger needed a way to keep his socks dry. Thus, the world's first sock dryer was invented!

In addition to the recreated trading post, the museum also owns three miles of low-impact nature trails in its Theodore Fouriezos Wetlands Park. In 1995 the museum received a donation of a 75 acre land parcel across the road from the Theodore Fouriezos family. The parcel adjoins local crown land, and is composed mostly of wetlands and contains an important cranberry bog. Here is our first look at the cranberry bog.

As we crossed the bog, we pondered the age old question, what is the difference between a marsh, a swamp, a bog and a fen?

Knowledge Nuts has the answer:  "The world’s wetlands are ecosystems in themselves, and are defined by the flora and fauna they support. Marshes are nutrient-rich wetlands that support a variety of reeds and grasses, while swamps are defined by their ability to support woody plants and trees. Bogs are characterized by their poor soil and high peat content, while fens have less peat and more plant life than a bog. For a more detailed explanation just click the above link."

We followed the wooden boardwalk across the bog and out to Cache Bay of Lake Nipissing.

A raised shorebird viewing platform was located at the end of the trail. Unfortunately, we didn't see any shorebirds. There was a bit of a breeze, so they may have hidden themselves.

We decided this would make a great spot for lunch:

We don't have very many pictures from the actual hike because the mosquitos were so thick, you couldn't stop long enough to take a photo. Apparently, the littler buggers are so bad that no one wants to volunteer to maintain the trail. It is a bit uneven in spots:

Even with the mosquitos, it was still worth the walk out to the viewing platform. We are now back at camp and it is time for Happy Hour and campfire cooking.  Slainte!