Day 291-292
Due to advice from our Canadian friends, we had decided not to travel on Canada Day weekend due to anticipated huge numbers of amateur boaters plying the local waters. We spent Canada Day in Midland, ON touring the Martyrs' Shrine near Midland. The Martyrs’ Shrine is a Roman Catholic church which is consecrated to the memory of the Canadian Martyrs, six Jesuit Martyrs and two lay persons from the mission of Sainte-Marie among the Hurons. That evening we watched fireworks from our boat.
The next day we toured the mission of Sainte-Marie among the Hurons, a reconstruction of the 1600's mission on the actual site. From their website:
"Ontario’s first European Community, Sainte-Marie among the Hurons was the headquarters for the French Jesuit Mission to the Huron Wendat people. In 1639, the Jesuits, along with French lay workers, began construction of a fenced community that included barracks, a church, workshops, residences, and a sheltered area for Native visitors.
By 1648, Sainte-Marie was a wilderness home to 66 French men, representing one-fifth of the entire population of New France. Sainte-Marie's brief history ended in 1649, when members of the mission community were forced to abandon and burn their home of nearly ten years.
After extensive archaeological and historical research, Sainte-Marie among the Hurons is now recreated on its original site, where the mission’s compelling story is brought to life."
No comments :
Post a Comment