Traveler

Upper Canada Village


15th of July, 2007. It was a nice summer day and our objective was Upper Canada Village. It was the second attempt to visit this place: previous time we got there too late. We didn’t realize is so much to see. Usually, from Toronto there are about 4 hours of driving. Located between Hwy 2 and St. Lawrence River, East of Morrisburg, ON, the Village is the main attraction of the area, beside the memorial to The Battle of Crysler's Farm. In order to get there you’ll have to take exit 758 on Hwy 401 E. Go South on Upper Canada Rd. and fallow the signs.


The Village is open from May 17 to October 5, 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily (http://www.uppercanadavillage.com/). Because the place is closer to Montreal (only 1.5 hours of driving) we choose to sleep overnight at my brother-in-law in Laval, QC. Is good to be there before noon, otherwise you won’t have enough time to visit. There is a nice restaurant inside the Village, serving traditional food made mainly from products grown and harvest inside the village. Eating here is a good idea: you’ll get a nice meal at a reasonable price.


I found out about Canada Villages in a documentary I borrowed from the Public Library. Actually, that documentary was about a different village, probably Hazelton in BC (http://www.northbceh.com/smithers/hazelton.htm), but I’m not sure about that. I don’t know how many we have all over Canada but I know at least another two: Black Creek Pioneer Village in Toronto and a small one in Pickering: The Pickering Museum. We are planning to visit the last one anytime soon.

Upper Canada Village is a "Living history" place made of over 40 buildings salvaged from extinction when the new inland waterway was built. Here the time is 1860. The atmosphere is reproducing a period of a real 19th century community in every living detail, a community which has progressed over the years between 1780 and 1867. Every building is populated with people who are ready to talk to you about everything you would ask. There are mills, trades shops, farms, churches, homes, factories, a Gazette Printing Office and even a one-room schoolhouse. We enjoyed a horse-drawn wagon and boat ride. Everybody is dressed in costumes from the past and ready to tell you stories about events or people who use to live there 150 years ago. How was economy in that period of time, commerce, transportation, fashion, food or even family. By example, the new Trans Canadian railway, inaugurated in 1886, brought for the first time oranges in Ontario. You can check out prices at the store, how much they were paying for food, doctor, transportation, rent, hotel or a pair of oxen! Usually, when you visit a museum everything looks cold, dead. Here everything looks alive because is populated with real people… Very impressive!