A Visit to Historical Oakville

Summer is here! In fact, we have been off of school now for 2 whole weeks! 

And when I say "we," I mean our whole family.  The three kids have finished another year at our local elementary school and Kevin and I completed our 13th year of teaching.  

Now we have 10 weeks of  rest, fun adventure and relaxation ahead of us!

During the day, we keep the kids busy (and happy!) doing bike rides, playing UNO, splashing in the fun pool and giving them short spurts on the Wii.

Because bed times don't need to be as early as they do during the school year, we have been a bit more active in the evenings.

The other night we took the kids to a nearby small city called Oakville.  In fact, it is the town in which my hubby teaches and is a very pretty place to spend time.  

A brief history of Oakville:

 In 1805, the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada (our earliest body of government in Canada) bought the 

lands from 

the Mississaugas aboriginal people.  In 1807, British immigrants 

settled the area on the shores of Lake Ontario.

Oakville, the town that exists today,  was founded in 1857.

It's first industries included shipbuilding, timber shipment,

and wheat farming. In the 1860s, there was an economic recession 

and the foundry, the most important industry in town, was closed. 

Basket-making became a major industry in the town, and 

the Grand Trunk Railway was built through it.

Right along the shores of the lake, the Historical Society keeps two 175 year old homes as museums and wedding venues.  The gardens are spectacular including a fountain, winding pathways and earlier home foundations clad in ivy.  

And, of course, this being Canada, there is a life-sized moose peeking from behind a large pine tree!

The gardens surrounding the stately homes continue down the ridge towards the lake and pier.  They have been created in an alpine garden  style and the kids spent nearly 15 minutes climbing up the stone steps and running down the grassy knoll.  

Next- down to the waterfront.

Here the "beach" is covered in millions of time-worn, water-

smoothed stones. We put our feet into the cool water and then 

admired the many Inukshuks decorating the area. 

Traditionally, Inukshuks have been built by the native peoples of Canada's north.  They were used for navigation, veneration and as place markers that simply meant, "Man has been here."

Obviously, many people had been to Oakville's pier in the last few days and wanted to leave their marks!

On our walk through the nearby streets, we came by many more historical homes with date plaques stating the year they were built and their original purpose.  The building at the top right was the earliest hotel in Oakville built in 1857.  

The home on the bottom left belonged to a "Master Mariner" named Captain Samuel McGiffin. 

And the bottom right? It belonged to William Spinner, the owner of the first "public house" in Oakville.  My daughter and I agreed that his porch looked like it was set for tea even though history might dictate otherwise!

Our last stop on our Oakville tour??

Starbucks of course.

Why the picture of my coffee you ask??

Check out the label - that's my name printed perfectly by the barista.  And he didn't even have to ask twice. 

 It's not very often people recognize my name AND know how to spell it!!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Bronwyn