I had absolutely no idea how to pronounce Penetanguishene, and I still don’t. Typing it isn’t any easier. I had to cut-and-paste the name to make sure I got it right. Nonetheless, that’s where we pointed the car on our fourth day in Ontario, about an hour northeast of Collingwood.
Notice that I mentioned road time and not distance because nothing happens fast up here. Divided highways don’t go through this particular stretch of countryside. So a 60 kilometre (37 mile) drive to Penetanguishene takes an hour. A 140 km (87 mile) roundtrip journey with a couple of detours takes 2 ½ hours. That’s just the way it is.
Discovery Harbour
I’ve been to plenty of living history museums before, even one in Ohio just a few weeks ago, so I knew what to expect. I always assume there will be a blacksmith and of course someone pounded an anvil here too. They always have a blacksmith, I think it’s a living history museum rule. But Discovery Harbour had a lot of other displays that went well beyond demonstrations of antiquated metalworking techniques (map).
A Fort!
Discovery Harbour is a tourist attraction today but it began as the Penetanguishene Naval Yard during the first half of the 19th Century. A war was underway between the United States and the United Kingdom, the War of 1812, and American forces crossed into Canadian territory multiple times. They were repelled at each attempt. So the threat of invasion was real and Britain fortified its vulnerable Great Lakes holdings accordingly.
As an American, it’s always interesting to learn about history from the point of view of the other side. In this case, the United States was portrayed as the aggressor and the enemy.
Anyway, Penetanguishene sat in a protected cove on the southeastern corner of Georgian Bay, with easy access to Lake Huron. This became a natural location for a naval presence, which the British set up in 1813 and promptly abandoned after the war ended in 1815. However they returned it to service soon thereafter and it became the headquarters of the Lake Huron fleet for a couple of decades before the army manned it through 1856. The Americans no longer posed much of a threat by then and the fort no longer served a useful purpose.
However, the military base and the settlement that sprouted around it left behind a nice selection of historic structures and artifacts. So historians stepped in and established Discovery Harbour to preserve and recreate that period in time.
And Ships!
It’s not just buildings either. Discovery Harbour included two reconstructed ships, the transport and cargo schooner H.M.S. Tecumseth (and its shipwrecked hull preserved in a museum exhibit) and the smaller cargo schooner H.M.S. Bee. It always amazes me that people crossed huge bodies of water in such tiny vessels. I had the same feeling when I visited the Maryland Dove in St. Mary’s County, Maryland a couple years ago. It seems almost impossible, and yet Europeans did this routinely for centuries.
Brewery #5: Test Batches Brewery
Next we scooted down the road a short way to Test Batches Brewery in Midland for lunch (map). This marked a rare occasion when I visited a town mentioned previously on Twelve Mile Circe. In this case it was “Make Tracks to Midland” from 2014. Unfortunately that earlier article didn’t reference anything beyond the name of the town itself so we had to find our own adventure, namely lunch. We had a nice meal, heeded the usual disclaimer, and went on our way.
I’ll also note that the brewery referenced “treats” on its signage and those included several homemade candies. We took some back to the house for later enjoyment.
Elmvale Jungle Zoo
We also went to a zoo. Everyone who has ever read 12MC knows that our older kid loves zoos to the point of earning an undergraduate degree in zoology (and entomology). So we go out of our way for zoos, whether large or small, famous or obscure, if and where it exists. This time it was Elmvale Jungle Zoo near its namesake town (map).
That was a good day with some modest driving, a couple of attractions, a hearty lunch, and bags of candy. We drove back to Collingwood pretty satisfied.
Brewery #6: Endswell Beer
Back at the house, we went for an evening stroll along the Harbourview Trail after dinner and decided to stop at Endswell Beer as sunset approached (map). They had a low ABV beer on cask (something like 3.5%) and I simply had to try it. I can’t remember the exact style — probably should have written it down of course — but I’m thinking something like English Bitter.
Cask beers were easier to find a few years ago but they’ve almost completely disappeared recently, so it’s a rare treat when I find one. This version came in a proper British imperial pint mug to guarantee that everything ends well.
Articles in the Ontario Series
- Choices
- Downtime
- Lake and Mountain
- Penetanguishene and Beyond
- Lake and Caves
- Owen Sound
- Toronto Orientation
- Toronto Tourist
- Bonus Days
See Also: The Complete Photo Album on Flickr.
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