Write@Home
Winter 2015

Canada

19th century old farm in Upper Canada Village, Eastern Canada

Last Saturday we went to Upper Canada Village. This is a great place for the family to visit and we had a lot of fun there.

This is a small village that looks like a village in the 19 century, and the staff plays the roles of real habitants there. So I can say that this village still lives in the 1860’s, and it made us feel as if we had travelled back in time. In the village we discovered many interesting places: store, tavern, school house, baker, sewing store, living quarter, sawmill, flour mill, wool mill, farm, and took a ride on a horse drawn carriage.

Cook`s Tavern was the first building that we visited. There we met Mr. Cook, the tavern`s owner. He told us that in the 1860’s Cook`s Tavern was a hotel for travelers. They offered meals and drinks to their visitors. Also, it was a place for local activities; it was the family`s gateways. People liked to spend their time in the bar room talking about news and the weather, and playing cards.

It was interesting to see the Crysler Store. The store provided the whole town with items such as: spices (cinnamon sticks, vanilla, whole nutmeg, whole cloves, etc.), fabrics, salt, and many more items which were useful at the time.

At the bakery we could smell delicious pies, bread, and other pastries. There we saw how two men had baked bread in the wood oven. In fact, it is possible to buy some bread in the village store.

During our tour we visited many stores such as the dressmaker, Loucks Farm, cheese factory, school house, printing office, cabinetmaker, shoemaker, woolen factory, and flour mill. We learned a lot of interesting things about their work. For example, this flour mill is powered by a steam engine and water wheels like in the 1860’s. The process of making flour includes some steps. The first step is washing and drying the grain. The next step begins on the second floor of the mill. The miller puts grain into a hopper above the millstones. The water wheel turns the millstones, the miller opens the control gates and the grain falls down to the millstones, where it’s crushed into flour. The grounded flour drops down to the elevator. Finally, the flour passes down a second chute to the lower floor where it is collected and put into sacks. In the 1860’s, the mill worked only in the spring and the fall. Today, it works year -round and produces 800lb of flour every day.

In conclusion, I’d like to say that it was a beautiful family activity. We enjoyed the beautiful nature, learned about Canadian history, had a lot of fun during the horse carriage ride and during our short trip on the miniature train. It was a wonderful Canadian experience!