Stepping Back in Time in Historic Sherbrooke Village

Who is this man?  Why is he wanted? --

-- and why is he in jail?

The story starts early this morning when we set off on a drive north on the Eastern Coast of Nova Scotia from Spry Bay to Sherbrooke to visit Historic Sherbrooke Village.  On the way, we spotted some colorful Nova Scotia seacoast houses --

-- and we had a chance to drive through the world-famous Ecum Secum which, to our surprise, didn't appear to have many buildings:

Our drive took us through the harbor at Lipscomb, where we saw some derelicts from the height of the fishing era:

Eventually, we arrived at Sherbrooke.  We crossed the St. Mary River and found our way to the historic village.

Sherbrooke Village has approximately 80 homes and buildings that were built over a 50 year period, starting in 1860. Costumed interpreters recreate life as it was in 1867, during Sherbrooke’s golden years.  ALL of the buildings are original, and ALL (except one barn) are still standing in their original location.  Together they formed the heart of the town when gold mining, fishing and forestry were at their height and Sherbrooke was a much more populous town.  At its height, the town was home to over 1200 people.  Today it is home to only about 300 people.  

As a result of population declines, the heart of the village emptied, and buildings lay empty.  In 1969, Nova Scotia Province established the historic village as a living museum to depict life in the 1800's.  It is presently administered as part of the Nova Scotia Museum.

Our first view of the village shows it just as it might have looked at its height:

Some of the buildings, while intriguing architecturally, have not yet been restored or open to the public, but they complete our picture of what the village must have looked like in its heyday:

A number of the houses are still privately occupied.  Here, Kathy admires a garden at one house that is filled with beautiful daylilies:

There are a number of buildings restored to their original function as post office, printery, tailors and general store.  We got a peek into the back storage room of the general store:

We particularly liked the gingerbread decoration on Greenwood Cottage, which was built in 1871 by one of the more prosperous residents of the town:

Re-enactors and demonstrators helped us understand many of the buildings, their uses and significance.  One of the most interesting was the blacksmith shop --

-- where re-enactors actually forge metal items for sale in the village "Company Store," or gift shop.  Here, Kathy holds a small brass bell that the blacksmiths in the background have forged and are finishing off with a brass fixture for hanging.  It has been made to order for someone to purchase:

The boat shop is occupied by someone who makes wood chainsaw sculptures.  We particularly liked the twin eagles and the shimmering mermaid:

Around back, the Cruickshank Barn houses farm animals, and Kathy had a chance to get up close and personal with the floppy eared Nubian goats:

The Eastern Coast has spectacular scenery, which we enjoyed as much as we could on our hour's drive each way to Sherbrooke, but, truthfully, with the heavy coastal fog that covers this area in July, we didn't get to see (or give you photos of) the most spectacular bays, coves, inlets and rivers.  Just take our word for it that this is a strikingly beautiful part of Nova Scotia.  We have one more day here, so there is a chance we'll get to see some more of it, but, with the foggy weather, we're not holding our breath.

Oh, yes, and the answers to the questions about the criminal at the beginning of this blog entry?  He was pictured on a wanted poster printed in the Sherbrooke printery, tried in a courthouse in Sherbrooke, and jailed in a jail occupied by the town's prisoners AND the jailer and the jailer's family.