Discover Muskoka’s living history at Muskoka Heritage Place

You may not be able to redo the past, but you can experience it anew. How?

First, bring to mind the smell of a wood fire. Add the comforting smell of baking emanating from a pioneer kitchen. Layer that with the sound of a steam engine’s whistle in the distance, a school bell calling students to their one-room schoolhouse, a donkey braying, and the echo of metal hammering metal in the blacksmith’s forge.

Can you picture it?

You’ll experience all that and more when you visit Muskoka Heritage Place. And whether it’s your first time or your tenth, there’s no better way to get acquainted – or reacquainted – with Muskoka’s past.

Begin in the Muskoka Museum for a self-guided chronological journey of artifacts showing human activity in the area starting 7000 years ago. The museum’s current feature exhibit – War: What is it Good For? running through 2018 – features WWI artifacts including several specific to Muskoka’s own 122nd Battalion, plus information and historic images in honour of the 100th anniversary of “The Great War.”Then head out into the pioneer village where 18 historic buildings await exploration. Most of these aren’t replicas, keep in mind – many of the buildings in the village, which includes a First Nations’ encampment, one-room school house, a trapper’s cabin, a general store, hotel, church, blacksmith’s shop, and family homes, were moved to the site from various locations across Muskoka and were originally built as far back as 1868.

Stop and chat with one of the costumed narrators to learn more about life in the village. Be sure to check with the admissions desk for a list of the day’s activities and demonstrations – learn what games the First Nations, Métis, and pioneer children played and try them for yourself, make a candle, see how difficult it was to keep clothes clean (a washboard and manual wringer are hard work!), and watch how a blacksmith made every day tools. You can even go on a Nature’s Treasure Hunt, searching for cards depicting the plants, trees, and animals First Nations’ peoples used and taught settlers about, helping them to survive in their new home – ask the admissions staff for details.

The village isn’t like a shhhh-and-don’t-touch-anything museum. While some items in the buildings are for display only, the interactive activities will bring the past to life. Kids can run through the grounds to burn off steam. And visitors are welcome to bring a lunch and have a picnic, grab a soda or packaged snack from the barn (open during July and August), or head to nearby downtown Huntsville for some lunch and shopping before returning in the afternoon for some more vintage fun – site passes are valid for the entire day.

A ride on the historic Portage Flyer train is a highlight of a visit to Muskoka Heritage Place. Once the world’s smallest commercial railroad, which operated from 1904 until 1958 between the nearby villages of North Portage and South Portage, the train now ferries passengers alongside the Muskoka River to a beautiful stop on the shore of Fairy Lake. Take the train there and back, or bring along a picnic lunch and ride the train back on its next trip. Don’t forget to check the train schedule online or at the admissions desk, though – times vary and the train always leaves promptly on time. You don’t want to miss it! Your ticket is valid all day, too – ride as many times as you want.

You’ll also want to spend some time in the Steam Museum inside the train station. The station is a replica representative of those in the area in the 1920s and contains a telegraph office and interactive displays.

For eager train enthusiasts, you can become an engineer for a day, too – the full-day program lets you get behind the controls of a historic 1926 steam locomotive or a 1949 diesel electric locomotive, taking a coach full of passengers to the end of the line. There is only one spot left for this season, though, so book now or plan ahead for the 2017 season.

Special events bring history to life

Early in the summer, two special events will bring history fully to life for visitors.

On June 25 and 26, the theatre company Live History will bring local past to life with a family-friendly interactive show that takes audiences on a one-hour adventure through the village. Think murder mystery meets interactive theatre. Reserve your spot ahead of time, though – space is limited to just 20 people per performance. The shows run June 25 at 11:00am, 1:00pm and 3:00pm and June 26 at 11:00am and 1:00 pm. A full site pass is required but there is no additional charge for the show.

The ever popular Dominion Day Strawberry Social and Steam-Up Day is on July 1. Join the village’s narrators for scones and hand-whipped cream – while supplies last – wandering live music from the Glen Reid duo, and the first steam engine run of the season at the train station.

Adopt or donate an artifact

Did you know that you can adopt one of the museum’s artifacts, a village building, or even one of the trains? Find out which ones here. Your adoption helps to preserve these artifacts for the future. You not only get bragging rights, you get a certificate to hang on your wall or give as a gift.

If you have an artifact from the museum’s time period that you’d like to donate, the museum’s collections coordinator, Sara White, would love to hear from you. Not everything can be accepted – a collections committee works to ensure that it is in the best interest of the museum, the community and the artifact for them to take responsibility for it – but please contact Sara first for details at [email protected] or 705-789-7576 extension 3215.

Visitor information

The Muskoka Museum is open year-round and the full Muskoka Heritage Place site is open for 2016 from Saturday, May 17 through Saturday, October 8. There are multiple ways to visit – a village pass includes admission to the museum, you can buy a ticket for the train only, or purchase a full site pass to see it all. Note that the train does not run on Sundays or Mondays.

While the museum and village grounds are accessible, the historic buildings are not all wheelchair-friendly. The village has large-print colour photos of the interiors for those who cannot gain access. The train can accommodate two wheelchairs at a time, but the hill to the station is steep and guests may prefer to drive around instead. We can help. Just ask!

The Muskoka Heritage Place admissions desk is at 88 Brunel Road in Huntsville; the train station is on Forbes Hill Drive adjacent to the Active Living Centre.

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