Step back 1,000 years as you walk through an authentic, recreated Iroquoian village at Ska-Nah-Doht Village and Museum. Set within the Longwoods Road Conservation Area, the village offers exploration at 18 outdoor exhibits including a longhouse and palisade maze. Many events are held throughout the year.
Ska-Nah-Doht Village: 8348 Longwoods Road, Mount Brydges • Find us on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/skanahdoht/
Discover the strange and mystical truth behind the Baldoon Mystery, where stray bullets, flying stones, dying livestock, falling barn beams and freak fires terrorized a family in the 1830’s. This and many other fascinating pieces of the Baldoon Settlement are found at the Wallaceburg Museum. The Baldoon Settlement is now the beautiful, heritage town of Wallaceburg, founded on the banks of the Sydenham River
Wallaceburg Museum – 505 King St., Wallaceburg, ON, N8A 1J1 • 519-627-9859
Follow the path of those fighting to keep what is now Canadian
Take a cruise up the Historic Thames River
Running through the centre of Chatham-Kent, the Thames River is now a popular route for boaters cruising from Detroit. But in 2000, the Thames River was named a Historic Canadian River for the important role it played as a transportation route for First Nations and early settlers. During the War of 1812-13, American soldiers came up the river from Fort Pontchartrain (Detroit), fighting the British and ultimately killing lengendary Shawnee Chief Tecumseh, just east of Chatham. The Thames was also the terminus for the Underground Railway for American slaves during the American Civil War.
Drive Route 1812 (Tecumseh Parkway) and visit the battle sites from the War of 1812-13. As you follow the picturesque Thames River as it winds its way through Chatham-Kent, enjoy 11 pull-offs where you can read about the fateful journey taken by First Nations and British as they battled with American forces during the War of 1812. During the War, famous native leader Chief Tecumseh and his confederacy allied with the British and helped capture Fort Detroit. Visit Tecumseh Park, near downtown Chatham, where Tecumseh’s forces held a skirmish at the Forks against American soldiers, in 1813. Don’t miss the site where Shawnee Chief Tecumseh was killed. But where is Tecumseh buried? That is still a mystery.
Get close with a world famous Eqyptian mummy, Princess Arsinoe. Chatham’s local history, including the story of how it came into possession of a real mummy, is well presented at the Chatham-Kent Museum. Find out how the mummy became a local celebrity by the time it was donated to the museum in 1943.
Chatham-Kent Museum: 75 William St. N., Chatham • 519-360-1998
See the sites and hear the story of Canada’s oil boom. Bothwell, now a pretty, small town, once “had the allure, chaos and mayhem equal to any gold rush town” thanks to the spring of petroleum found along the banks of the Thames River in the late 1700’s. Black Gold quickly turned a small town into a thriving community of 10,000 people, thanks to oil booms in 1860 and 1890. Oil is still pumped today, but not to the extent of the Black Gold days.
Bothwell-Zone Museum: 29785 Concession 7, Bothwell • www.historicbothwell.ca