Historical Site sights in Canada
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Fort Anne National Historic Site
This historic site in the town center preserves the memory of the early Acadian settlement plus the remains of the 1635 French fort. Entry to the extensive grounds is free, but you'll also want to visit the museum where artifacts are contained in various period rooms. An extraordinary four-panel tapestry, crafted in needlepoint by more than 100 volunteers, depicts 400 years of history.
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Fort Point
Further afield is Fort Point (aka Admiral's Point), where you'll find a pretty lighthouse and four cannons, the remains of the British fortification from 1745. There are 10 more British cannons in the water, all compliments of the French in 1762. An interpretive trail tells the tale. It's accessible from Dunfield, a few kilometers south on Rte 239.
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Le Vieux Poste
Seventeenth-century fur-trading post Le Vieux Poste has been reconstructed as a series of buildings showing the lifestyles of the hunters who called the forest home.
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Marble Island
In Hudson Bay, 50km east of Rankin, is uninhabited Marble Island, a graveyard for James Knight and his crew, who sought the Northwest Passage in the 18th century. Some wrecks of 19th-century whaling ships are there too. Ask at the visitor center or hotel to learn if anyone's offering tours there.
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Petite Chapelle
Built in 1747 by the Jesuits, Petite Chapelle is one of North America's oldest wooden churches. Also known as the Indian Chapel, it contains a small exhibition on missionary life.
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Port Royal National Historic Site
Some 14km northwest of Annapolis Royal, Port Royal National Historic Site is the actual location of the first permanent European settlement north of Florida. The site is a replica of de Champlain's 1605 fur-trading habitation, where costumed workers help tell the story of this early settlement.
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Poste de Traite Chauvin
The Poste de Traite Chauvin is a replica of the continent's first fur-trading post and offers some history on the first transactions between Aboriginals and Europeans. Exhibits are in French, but ask for an English guidebook.
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Trinity Historic Sites
One admission ticket lets you gorge on seven buildings scattered throughout the village.
The Trinity Historical Society runs four of the sites. The Lester Garland House was rebuilt to celebrate cultural links between Trinity and Dorset, England – major trading partners in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. The Cooperage brings on a real live barrel-maker; the Green Family Forge is an iron-tool-filled blacksmith museum and the Trinity Museum displays more than 2000 pieces, including North America's second-oldest fire wagon.
The provincial government operates the other trio of sites, which include costumed interpreters. The Lester Garland Premises depicts an 1820s general…
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Ukrainian Heritage Sites
With a huge Ukrainian population and a long history of immigration, there are a few places around town to learn about the culture of the old country and its transplantation in Canada. These sites are found north of downtown and can be combined into a single outing: St Josaphat's Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral,Ukrainian Canadian Archives & Museum of Alberta, and Ukrainian Museum of Canada.
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Ye Matthew Legacy
An impressive full-scale replica of the ship on which Cabot sailed into Bonavista is at Ye Matthew Legacy. At press time, the site was at risk of closing due to lack of funding for repairs.
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Algoma Central Railway
The ACR is a 475km stretch of railroad that starts in the center of town and runs due north all the way to Hearst. Constructed in 1899, the iron tracks were laid down to facilitate the mass transport of raw materials from the frigid north to Sault Ste Marie's industrial plants. A couple of decades later, the region was explored by the Group of Seven, who immortalized the unspoiled scenery through vivid landscape tableaux. Today, the railway is largely used for passenger transportation and tours.
As the region's popularity grew, the Agawa Canyon Tour Train started up to serve the new influx of tourists. From mid-June to mid-October, a daily train shuttles passengers along…
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Riel House
After Louis Riel's 1885 execution for treason, his body was brought to his family home before being buried in St Boniface Basilica. Riel grew up on this farm in a cabin by the river; the 1880s house now on display housed his descendents as recently as the 1960s! Now surrounded by subdivisions, the house is 9km south of the center.
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SS Sicamous
Right on the sand, the SS Sicamous hauled passengers and freight on Okanagan Lake from 1914 to 1936. Now restored and beached, it has been joined by the equally old tugboat, SS Naramata.
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Upper Fort Garry Gate
Saved from Philistine developers, the original 1830s oak, stone and mortar walls stand where four different forts have stood since 1738. Good informative plaques and shady benches amidst the urban bustle.
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Sault Ste Marie Canal National Historic Site
Stroll through the quiet islands on the Canadian side of the waterway; the majority of freighter traffic occurs further afield in the American locks – the older Canadian locks, built in 1895, are used for recreational vessels only.
The Attikamek walking trail is a short, self-guided hike around South St Mary's Island. The meandering path winds through wooded knolls, encircles the trenchlike locks and dips under the International Bridge, allowing visitors to grasp the interesting juxtaposition of nature and industry.
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Ermatinger-Clergue National Historic Site
This pair of stone cottages comprises the oldest buildings west of Toronto, and have been transformed into an informative museum where costumed students re-create life in 1814 with activities like churning butter and dyeing fabrics.
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Ste-Marie among the Hurons
Across the street from the Martyr's Shrine lies Ste-Marie among the Hurons, a historic reconstruction of the 17th-century Jesuit mission. Costumed staff members dote on visitors, offering stories about hardship and torture with a cheerful smile.
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St Boniface Basilica
Mostly destroyed by fire in 1968, the original facade still stands as a 100-year, imposing, God-fearing reminder of the basilica, that once stood here. A more current structure was rebuilt on the ruins and Louis Riel rests in the cemetery.
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SS Klondike
Carefully restored, this was one of the largest sternwheelers used on the Yukon River. Built in 1937, it made its final run upriver to Dawson in 1955 and is now a national historic site. Try not to wish it was making the run now.
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Banting House National Historic Site
This historic site is where Nobel Prize–winner Sir Frederick Banting devised the method for extracting insulin in the 1920s. A pilgrimage site for diabetics, the meticulously curated museum outlines the history of diabetes, and chronicles Banting's medical contributions.
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Bell Homestead National Historic Site
Put down your cell phone and listen up: Alexander Graham Bell changed the future of communication when he conceived the first telephone at Bell Homestead National Historic Site on July 26, 1874. Bell's first North American home has been lovingly restored to original condition. There's a cafe here, too.
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Amethyst Mine Panorama
Visit the mine, 40km east of Thunder Bay, and dig for your very own purple chunk of amethyst, Ontario's official gemstone. While pulling into the parking lot, you may notice that the gravel has a faint indigo hue – a testament to the fact that the area is truly overflowing with these semiprecious pieces.
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Officers' Square
Once the military parade ground, the Garrison District's Officers' Square now hosts a full-uniform changing of the guard ceremony in summertime. Also in summer the Calithumpians Outdoor Summer Theatre performs daily at 12:15pm weekdays and 2:30pm weekends. The free historical skits are laced with humor. Summer evenings bring jazz, Celtic and rock concerts – see the website for schedules.
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Fort Henry National Historic Site
This restored British fortification, dating from 1832, dominates the town from its hilltop perch. The postcard-perfect structure is brought to life by colorfully uniformed guards trained in military drills, artillery exercises and the fife-and-drum music of the 1860s. The soldiers put on displays throughout the day; don't miss the 3pm Garrison Parade. Admission includes a guided tour of the fort's campus.
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York Factory National Historic Site
Even more remote, around 250km southeast of Churchill, this HBC trading post, near Hayes River, was an important gateway to the interior and active for 273 years until 1957. The stark-white buildings are an amazing sight contrasting with their seemingly middle-of-nowhere setting.
York Factory is accessible only by air or boat.
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