Upper Canada Village

The weather forecast was not very promising this morning so we opted for Upper Canada Village, a heritage park in the town of Riverside near Morrisburg. It depicts a 19th century village in Upper Canada. We reckoned if it rained there would be plenty of houses for shelter. Construction of Upper Canada Village began in 1958 as part of the St. Lawrence Seaway project, which required the permanent flooding of 10 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. 

It was quite a vast area to explore and we were congratulating ourselves on coming on a Monday when we heard the first screams that heralded myriad school groups on their school outing! They dogged our steps for all of the time we were there and never was I as close to thinking that there should be mass extermination of screaming children! We had a nice visit to the cheese-making house - just ourselves - and then a short while alone in the Tenant's house before we had to beat a hasty retreat as a school group tumbled into the kitchen where I had been anticipating a sample of a cake that the woman of the house had just baked. In the cheese-making house, the cheesemaker was effusive in her praise of cheese curds which I are part of the dish poutine. I left with the intention of trying them (not in poutine as I had already tried them in it).

Is that an iceberg I see?

Grinding grain to make the flour that is used in the bakery to make the bread .

This is the horse that drives the saw below - just going round in circles!

Women at women's work!

Mammy pig!

And baby piggies!

The man is leading this horse on the tow path

and this is the Tow Scow being towed. It was full of those screaming children so we had no desire to get aboard.

Strange looking duck!

Should I just run?

Crysler Hall was once the home of a prosperous landowner and the building houses many 19th century displays including this stained glass window that once adorned St. John's Anglican Church of Crysler, Ontario.  Seemingly two eight year old boys vandalised the church leaving only this window intact. The congregation could not afford to get the church renovated so it eventually closed. They gave the window to Upper Canada Village.

Willard's Hotel where we had lunch in the old-fashioned way, waited on by comely maidens. It was the only way to escape those children!

Christ Church - Church of England

Christ Church inside.

Masonic Lodge

The only Masonic Lodge I am likely to see the inside of!

St. Lawrence River.

A 19th century mode of transport.

We were very fortunate that the rain didn't arrive until we were on our way home. The day was very cool and necessitated wearing coats - a big change from the weather we have had for quite a while.