Jun 21 - Upper Canada Village, ON
Hard to believe today is the longest day of the year! Where has the time gone?
We celebrated the longest day of the year by stepping back in history – we visited Upper Canada Village along with a kazillion school kids.
I am having trouble finding the words to describe our experience today - well done, bravo, c'est manifique, etc. really doesn't cut it.
Upper Canada Village is spectacular!
We toured the exhibits in the main building and watched a very interesting video about the Battle at Crysler's Farm in 1813. The war of 1812 is what most of us know; neither Jen nor I realized that it was a multi-year war.
Our first stop in the village was the woolen mill. Once I figured out how to get Jen into the place (typically there is an "entrance" ramp, but not an "exit" one, so Jen had most times to go against "the flow"), I was totally enthralled watching a very large loom weaving a blanket. The operator was extremely knowledgeable and talkative. I was so fascinated by it all, I completely forgot to take a picture.
Our second stop was the flour mill. A nice surprise- there was a wheelchair lift at the side of the building. This mill produces 600 - 1,000 lbs of flour a day! Again, the staff were extremely knowledgeable. What a great experience seeing how flour is made!
Our next stop was the lumber mill. Again, this was fascinating. On the lower floor was the water "workings". Hard to believe that this is 1740's technology. That's how old the workings of this mill are.
The "power" for all three mills comes from, wait for it, the mill pond!
The saw mill was really impressive. I hope you take a look at these videos.
Remember, if you click on the YouTube logo, you can watch these in a bigger screen size.
Here's the one-room schoolhouse.
As we neared the far end of the village, I noticed the Tow Scow was about to leave. This horse-drawn scow ferries visitors from one end of the village to the other. We watched it depart then I climb the tower and took this shot.
We returned to the main building and headed for, guess what, yes, you are right – the train!
I even convinced Jen to come along – the first car had a lift so Jen was able to safely get on board. Fifteen minutes later we were back at the station.
We'd had a pretty full morning, so we left the village and drove over to the Crysler Farm Memorial.
When the St Lawrence Seaway was built back in the '60s, much of the historic battlegrounds were flooded. This map is informative.
After a thoroughly delightful visit, we headed back to the park for lunch. After lunch, we drove into Cornwall on the 401 to do some chores. On our return, we drove Hwy 2 and the Long Sault Parkway.
Quite the day today. See you next time.
We went into some of the buildings. Many of them had staff in period costumes working in the buildings, as in the mills earlier.
