Road trip

The nice thing about writing a column for a paper is getting to chew on a topic once or twice. It works for me. Since it’s half-past July already, I’m here to ask you to raise your hand if you’ve visited all of our local community museums. I’m thinking a road trip is in order. We have five municipally-owned community museums in the County. I know, I know. There are other historical sites in the community. But five of them are museums owned by you and me. We owe it to ourselves to support our local heritage. Besides, they are treasures—each site with at least one heritage structure— and I’m sure one or two of them will speak to you.

Let’s start at the tip-top of the County with the AmeliasburghHistoricalMuseum. It operates as a small pioneer village—who doesn’t like a pioneer village? The central museum structure was originally the WesleyanMethodistChurch, which was built in 1868 and served the Ameliasburgh community until 1967. Over the years, a number of buildings have been added to the site, including a log cabin, two barns filled with agricultural machinery, a blacksmith’s shop (occasionally there’s even a blacksmith working in the shop), a sap shanty, dairy and beekeeping buildings and the Goldie Corliss 18-foot flywheel, housed in a large, stone building. I’m no expert in flywheeling, but it’s worth the trip just to see the Goldie Corliss. If it happens to be a day when a volunteer has fired it up, then you’ve got it made. Plan on visiting Ameliasburgh with a break for tea in Amelia’s Tea Room. If you want to save it all up for one big blowout day, go on August 31, Heritage Activity Day. That’s the day all the stops are pulled out.

Heading south you’ll find the WellingtonHeritageMuseum. This museum is in bustling downtown Wellington. The building was once a Quaker meeting house. It now houses the Douglas Crawford Canning Collection as well as paying tribute to the Society of Friends who played a role in the development of this community. The meeting house was built in 1885 and was in use as a meeting house until 1966, when it was adapted for use as a community museum with a focus on the contributions of the local Quaker families. The staff and volunteers of the WellingtonHeritageMuseum are actively engaged in local festivities, including Canada Day celebrations and Pumpkinfest. On Saturday mornings throughout July and August, join the staff on a walking tour of the historic buildings in the Village. It’s a quiet site most days, but we all need a bit of peace and quiet, right? After you visit the museum, buy yourself a takeout coffee and a treat, and enjoy a moment at the nearby beach, gallery or hardware store. Who doesn’t like a good, old- fashioned hardware store?

Head east on Highway 33, toward the town of Picton, home of MacaulayHeritagePark. The Macaulay House was built in 1830 and has been restored as it was in the mid-1850s. It is a beautiful structure, featuring costumed docents who interpret life in the mid-19th century, in particular the life of the Macaulay family. The house is surrounded by beautifully maintained heritage gardens, an orchard, a kitchen garden and the carriage house. Next door, is the original CountyMuseum, which was the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, a Hallowell parish church where Reverend William Macaulay once preached. The church building, recently restored and stabilized, houses a range of exhibits featuring local artifacts. Reverend Macaulay donated the land for the house, the church, a school and the Courthouse.

Head south, out of Picton, along Union Street to the fork in the road. Turning right will direct you to MarinersParkMuseum on County Road 13. Mariners is lovingly cared for by local volunteer marine history enthusiasts and the museum staff. The Museum site is home to local marine archives, artifacts, a replica of old FortKente and the relocated and restored FalseDuckIsland lighthouse. If you dream of shipwreck treasures and life on the Great Lakes, MarinersPark is the place to visit. There’s lots of space to stretch your legs and get the wind back in your sails on the vast property, which also features out-of-door displays.

Finally, one of my favourite places: RoseHouseMuseum. Rose House is in North Marysburgh and has survived, with minor alterations and repairs, since the early 1800s. It was home to the Rose family, who were among the very first settlers in Marysburgh. Don’t tell anyone, but it’s believed the Rose House was constructed from timbers salvaged from the original Lutheran church. There’s lots to see inside the house, including the summer kitchen, the parlour and the sleeping loft, as well as plenty to enjoy from the vast front porch that overlooks LakeOntario. Rose House is furnished with artifacts from the era, many generously donated by the Rose family and other local families.

Pack a lunch and bring the kids. Get in your car or on your bike, and plan on spending a couple of days visiting these sites. The only problems I see with a road trip like this are there’s so much to see and so many interesting people to chat up, you’ll need more than one trip. See you on the porch at Rose House.

theresa@wellingtontimes.ca