Black Creek Pioneer Village - Toronto, Canada

Black Creek

I was last in Toronto for Christmas 2000 when temperatures were well
below freezing.

If you're game for a day out in the cold then wrap up warm and head for
Black Creek Pioneer Village, one of Toronto's top historic attractions.
We took the subway to Finch station and then Bus #60 B, D or E. The
village is situated at 1000 Murray Ross Parkway at Jane Street and
Steeples Avenue, Yorkville.

Forget the 21st century with all its mod cons, refrigerators, freezers,
washing machines, dishwashers, microwave ovens, etc, and enter a
replica working village representing life just as it might have been in
19th Century rural Ontario.

At the risk of repeating the word authentic too many times I have to
tell you that everything about the Village is as near authentic as
possible.

Costumed villagers go about their daily business using authentic tools
and methods. Replica stores, a mill, the printer's workshop, the clock
maker, authentically furnished homesteads and public buildings reveal
times gone. Explore the foundry, the Fisherville Church, the school,
the Doctor's House, the Town Hall, the Tinsmith or the broom-maker's
shop.

In the bitterly cold weather the cozy warmth of these homely buildings
was very welcome. In the Village hotel we were greeted by the smell of
home baking as we sampled delicious cheese buns straight from the
oven.

In the mill spinners and weavers, using carefully preserved equipment,
demonstrated dyeing, quilting, tatting and other early crafts. There is
a fine choice of handicrafts produced by the villagers for sale to
visitors. Crafts demonstrated during our visit included harness making,
baking, tin engraving, flour milling, and broom making. I did not
realize just how much there was to see until we took the horse-drawn
wagon on a tour of the village.

The Masonic Hall, above the Tinsmith, is one of the older buildings in
the Village thought to date from the mid-nineteenth century. At
different times in its history it has been a dwelling, a store, a
tinsmith's shop, and in the 1870's it was home to the newly founded
Blackwood Masonic Lodge.

The Lodge occupied this building until 1899 when it moved to a new
venue.
This building originally stood in Woodbridge, a short distance from the
Village, until the 1980's when it was in poor condition and about to be
demolished. However, the Metropolitan Toronto and Region Conservation
Authority joined forces with members of the Masonic Order and moved the
building piece by piece from its original site thus ensuring its
preservation in the Village.

Inside the Masonic Hall displays relate the history of freemasonry in
Ontario. On the day of our visit there was a volunteer present to
answer our questions and tell the history of the Lodge.

The Doctor's House was of great interest to me with its display of
instruments that appeared more suited to torture than to medicine. The
Doctor would have had his own medicinal herb garden and this has been
recreated next to his house.

You can just imagine the Doctor picking herbs to make his
medicines.

Herbs and vegetables played a major part in the lives of 19th century
settlers, and you can see several typical vegetable gardens. Most of
the vegetables currently grown at the Village were common in the 19th
century but they looked very different to what we might find in our
shops today.

Even in the thick snow and bitterly cold temperatures we found the
energy to explore these extensive grounds. It was certainly a full day
out and very good value for money.

Information:
Black Creek Pioneer Village
1000 Murray Ross Parkway
at Jane Street and Steeples Avenue
Yorkville

Subway: Finch then Bus #60 B, D or E

Admission: $9 adults; $7 seniors and students; $5 children (5 to 14 )
Children four and under - No charge

Seasonal times apply
Tel: (416) 736 1733.
Events (416) 661 6600.

Disabled Access:

There are 35 restored buildings to explore of which 12 are accessible
to wheelchairs. In the Visitors' Centre washrooms are accessible and
the facilities were excellent. Check on arrival which buildings are
accessible as adaptations are in progress.