Upper Canada Village is a heritage park

Living museum

A living museum is a type of museum, in which historical events showing the life in ancient times are performed, especially in ethnographic or historical views, or processes for producing a commercial product in terms of technical and technological developments are shown, especially the craft...

 in the village of Riverside near Morrisburg, Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, which depicts a 19th-century village in Upper Canada

Upper Canada

The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...

.

History

Construction of Upper Canada Village began in 1958 as part of the St. Lawrence Seaway project, which required the permanent flooding of ten communities in the area, known as The Lost Villages

The Lost Villages

The Lost Villages are ten communities in the Canadian province of Ontario, in the former townships of Cornwall and Osnabruck near Cornwall, which were permanently submerged by the creation of the Saint Lawrence Seaway in 1958....

. 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.

The park, owned and operated by the St. Lawrence Parks Commission

St. Lawrence Parks Commission

The St. Lawrence Parks Commission is an agency of the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Culture that manages parks and conservation areas along the St. Lawrence River, in Southeastern Ontario. It functions similar to a Conservation Authority....

, was opened to the public in 1961.

Other buildings from the Lost Villages were moved to Ault Park

Ault Park (Ontario)

Ault Park is a park on the St. Lawrence River in the Township of South Stormont, near Long Sault, Ontario, Canada.Originally on Sheek's Island, the park was built on family property donated to the Township of Cornwall by Levi Addison Ault....

, where they comprise a living museum run by the Lost Villages Historical Society.

The park also incorporates a memorial to the Battle of Crysler's Farm

Battle of Crysler's Farm

The Battle of Crysler's Farm, also known as the Battle of Crysler's Field, was fought on 11 November 1813, during the Anglo-American War of 1812. A British and Canadian force won a victory over an American force which greatly outnumbered them...

, a War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

 battle which also took place on land submerged by the Seaway project.

In 2009, approximately thirty-nine costumed historical interpreters (blacksmiths, weavers, millers, coopers, etc.) were dismissed as part of a controversial re-focusing of Upper Canada Village by St. Lawrence Parks Commission management.

Collection

Upper Canada Village endeavours to depict life in a rural English Canadian setting during the year 1866. Featured at the site are over 40 historical buildings, including several working mills (woollen mill, grist-mill and sawmill) and trades buildings (blacksmith, tinsmith, cabinetmaker, cooper, bakery, cheese-maker). Farming is demonstrated through the growing, harvesting of processing of heritage vegetables & livestock. Aspects of late 19th-century domestic arts, social life, music, religion, and politics are also discussed, interpreted and demonstrated at by staff dressed in clothing of the period. Local gardens in the village feature the flora and fauna commonly grown in the summer

The Heritage Buildings

Asselstine Factory

Using the latest in machinery, Asselstine's factory transforms raw wool into yarn and blankets. The factory also provides custom services to local spinners and weavers. It shows the emergence of the new mechanized factory system.

Bakery

In the large brick oven, the bakers produce bread from flour ground at Bellamy's Mills. Such a bakery required the business from railway, canals, or steamboat traffic to supplement local commerce.

Beach's Sawmill

Using a water-powered muley saw, this custom mill cuts lumber for the local market. Sawmills of this type were common and indispensable to a society largely dependent on wood for shelter.

Bellamy's Flour Mill

Driven by either a water turbine or steam engine, this largely automated mill grinds flour and feed to meet the community's requirements.

Blacksmith

The blacksmith shoes horses, repairs wagons, and fixes machinery for his enterprising neighbours. A good blacksmith was a "must" in the community.

Broommaker

The broommaker uses broom corn, imported from south of the border, to produce brooms for the local market. By the mid-19th century corn brooms had become popular because they were superior to those made from twigs, splints or corn husks.

Cabinetmaker

In addition to making repairs, the cabinetmaker produces custom-made furniture and other wooden items for local customers. Hard pressed by large mechanized furniture and chair factories, he also assembles mass-produced parts to stay in business.

Christ Church

Built in 1837, this stately, white church houses the dignified, formal liturgy and music of the local Anglican congregation, one of the main Protestant denominations in the area.

Cook's Tavern

The Tavern Keeper offers accommodation, food and beverages. Horses and carriages would have been rented. Small taverns such as this increasingly served a local clientele.

Crysler Hall

Once the home of a prosperous landowner, this building houses various exhibits and an audio visual production which will assist you in orienting yourself to the 1860s and the programming on site. Don't miss the fascinating exhibit on the "Lost Villages".

Crysler Store

The store offers a wide range of goods and services required by the community. Storekeepers bought their wares from wholesalers in Montreal and acted as a local clearing house for rags, wool, firewood, and local produce. They often provided postal services.

Dressmaker

The dressmaker promises to outfit ladies in the latest fashions from London, New York or Paris. She would trim a hat or stitch garments so that they were both fashionable and practical for every occasion.

Engine House

The Engine House shelters the "Queen", the Village's hand-pumped fire engine, and is the centre of activities for the local fire company. Mill owners often played a central role in obtaining firefighting equipment for their communities.

Family Activity Centre Visiting children have the opportunity to try their hand at 1860s pastimes. Games of strategy and chance, popular 19th century crafts, and outdoor games such as races, skipping and kite flying are on the program. Workshops are also available.
Gazette Printing Office

The Gazette staff produces a newspaper complete with local news, advertisements, a literary column, agricultural advice and foreign news copied from the telegraph and other newspapers.

Loucks Farm

A fully operating progressive farm practising a "mixed" type of agriculture. Loucks shows the use of horse power for planting, haying and harvesting. Mechanization was beginning on the more established farms in this period.

Lutheran Pastor House

Local Lutherans built a comfortable residence for their pastor, whose religious and moral teachings supported the piety of many German Protestants in this region.

McDiarmid House

The weaver will be found spinning yarn or working at the loom, to produce flannel, carpet or other textiles. This was an important source of income for many families.

Physician's House

The interpreter will discuss the role of the doctor within the community and the latest advancements in medicine. Many people continued to rely on less scientific remedies, on homeopaths, or midwives.

Providence Chapel

A meeting place for the local Episcopal Methodists, this chapel is the centre for Sunday school lessons, Charity Concerts and Temperance Meetings. Methodists were the most numerous denomination in Canada West.

Robertson House

The Robertson Home showcases a prospereous middle-class family whose Loyalist roots are evident in the furnishings and the early 19th century architectural style of the house.

Ross Farm

The farmer earns his income by sawing firewood and at times, by selling coopering products such as wooden buckets. Cordwood was sold to the Grand Trunk Railway, to steamers on the St. Lawrence, local residents and local mills. The farm women performed household duties, including quilting as demonstrated indoors.

School House

The Common School, supported now by property taxes is open to all who want to learn, though attendance is not compulsory. Once there, a student is drilled in manners and morals as well as the 3R's.

Shoemaker

Shoemaking was a popular trade in the 1860s. Our shoemaker makes primarily men's brogues, a common style of work shoe during the mid-nineteenth century. Visitors can see, touch and learn about how these straight-lasted, wooden pegged work shoes in their various stages in their construction.

Tenant Farm

The farm family leases the land and relies on oxen and simple hand implements to complete their work. Many tenant farmers aspired to own their land once sufficient capital had been acquired.

Tinsmith's Shop

The tinsmith makes a great variety of tinware for household and farm use. His bright, light and relatively inexpensive tinware was a popular replacement for pewter, wood and earthenware.

Union Cheese Factory

An increase in milk production led to the emergence of both privately owned and cooperative cheese factories by the 1860s. Canadian cheddar was produced for export and was a source of hard cash in a cash-starved economy.

Willard's Hotel

Willard's Hotel was a popular overnight accommodation along the upper St. Lawrence River during the nineteenth century. Today the restored hotel is a period restaurant offering visitors to Upper Canada Village a rest stop where they may purchase meals typical of the 1860s served by staff in period costume.

Visitors information

Upper Canada Village suggests the following tours if you are only able to stay for one or two hours:
One Hour: Cook's Tavern, Crysler Hall, Loucks Farm, Gazette Printing Office and one of the mills (Flour Mill, Woollen Factory or Saw Mill)
Two Hours:Asselstine's Woollen Factory, Bellamy's Steam Flour Mills, Beach's Sawmill, Cook's Tavern, Crysler Store, Crysler Hall, Dressmaker's Shop, Loucks Farm, Gazette Printing Office, School House, Ross Farm and Blacksmith Shop

Affiliations

The Museum is affiliated with: CMA

Canadian Museums Association

The Canadian Museums Association is a national organization for the promotion of museums in Canada.The Canadian Museums Association is the national organization for the advancement of the Canadian museum sector, representing Canadian museum professionals both within Canada and internationally. The...

, CHIN

Canadian Heritage Information Network

The Canadian Heritage Information Network is a Canadian government-supported organization that provides a networked interface to Canada's heritage, largely through the World Wide Web. It aims to give access to Canada's heritage for both Canadians and a worldwide audience, by supporting the...

, and Virtual Museum of Canada

Virtual Museum of Canada

The Virtual Museum of Canada is Canada's national virtual museum. With a directory of over 3,000 Canadian heritage institutions and a database of over 600 virtual exhibits, the VMC brings together Canada's museums regardless of size or geographical location.The VMC includes virtual exhibits,...

.

External links

• Upper Canada Village
• Upper Canada Village is part of The Great Waterway tourism region from the Seaway Valley to Lake Ontario