Upper Canada Village near Morrisburg, Ontario (Location)
We had some visitors from the U.S earlier this week so spent some time visiting the Upper Canada Village located between Cornwall, Ontario and Morrisburg, Ontario. I have been there a few times in recent years photographing the seasonal lights but this was the first time in quite a while that I had visited the village in daylight hours without snow on the ground. (Previous Upper Canada Village posts)
In the past year, the new entrance has been completed and provides access to the Village properties as well as to a new museum-style group of displays. This year, the displays focus heavily on the events of the war of 1812-14 which impacted this area directly when the Americans crossed the St. Lawrence River and battled with the locals, the natives and the British at Crysler Farm. The village itself reflects a period of time closer to the mid 1800’s but with this being the bicentennial of the War of 1812-14Â Canada and with the Fall of 1813 marking the bicentennial of the actual battles at Crysler Farm, there is more than a normal emphasis on the events of the 1812-14 period.
Once inside the entrance and past the museum displays, I headed out onto the graveled roads and pathways of the village itself where individuals wearing period clothing were very helpful and responding to questions and pointing out interesting aspects of life in the 1850’s and ’60’s. We had arrived at the village before lunch and, when we arrived, there were no crowds. As the day progressed, tourist buses did arrive with their passengers to add to the numbers and diversity to the tourist population.
Water-Driven Asseltine Woolen Mill
Beach’s Sawmill
Although I would get into the Woolen Mill and the Sawmill later in my visit to the Village, my first real interest was the Broom-Maker’s House.
Broom-Maker’s House
The Broom-Maker’s house itself had belonged to the McIlraith family who had emigrated from Scotland in 1846 and settled in the area of Perth in Lanark County. Like many of the buildings in the Upper Canada Village, the buildings are authentic and have been moved from various locations and reassembled in the Village.
In its new location at the Village, the McIlraith House now houses the tools of the broom-making trade with Wayne demonstrating how a broom would be made. Quite interesting.
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