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  • 10 Places to Get a Taste of County History 🛶 🥫
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10 Places to Get a Taste of County History 🛶 🥫

The County’s five local museums are the keepers of 225+ years of history, artifacts, heritage gardens, park lands, orchards and outdoor exhibits, but there are plenty of places to explore and experience the influence of Indigenous, British, French, Dutch, German and many others who have at some time called The County home.

Macaulay’s Victorian home is a community hub, offering heritage programs, exhibits and day camps. Watch for culinary workshops in February.

Macaulay Heritage Park

Macaulay Heritage Park comprises the house, gardens and church established by Rev. William Macaulay, an Anglican minister whose generous inheritance helped build the town of Picton. Inside the house you’ll find evidence of a comfortable life, albeit one lived in the 1800s: a winter and summer kitchen, three generous bedrooms, a sitting room, a parlour and more.

In winter, Macaulay hosts Ice Box PEC, an immersive art exhibition. It’s also host to many events featured in Flashback February, a week-long celebration of the rich cultural heritage of Prince Edward County.

Throughout the summer, Macaulay Heritage Park comes alive with special events, exhibits, day camps and programs meant to connect the community with its past. This is also the starting point of the popular Graveyard & Gallows tour, a guided, summertime walk highlighting the grisly double-hanging of the Lazier murder suspects.

Mariners’ museum and park is full of treasures, with exhibits on shipwrecks, ice cutting, rum running, fishing, Miss Super Test races and more.

Mariners’ Park Museum

Mariners’ Museum is a budding pirate’s paradise. This kid-friendly gem is filled with marine treasures, from model ships to maps of shipwrecks to details of rum runners’ routes, it also has a fort with a cannon, a swing set and a yard full of ship/boat-related paraphernalia awaiting exploration.

Water has always figured prominently in County life, once providing transportation routes into the interior. Trace the history of steam ships, schooners, speed boats, dugout canoes and fisherman’s skiffs at this South Bay museum.

wellington museum fainting couch

Can a horsehair couch really rejuvenate a tourist? There’s only one way to know…

Wellington Heritage Museum

The County was once known as the Garden County of Canada, owing to its plethora of fruit and vegetable canning factories. The first opened on the corner of Spring and West Mary streets in Picton. It was soon joined by dozens more and in the 1890s and early 1900s it became common to see horses and wagons loaded down with produce, waiting to be weighed and processed. Soon, The County was producing one-third of all canned tomatoes in the country. The industry began to wane after the Second World War, when factories were bought up and closed by competing American companies. Learn more about this industry at the Wellington Heritage Museum and get a closer look at vintage canning labels. It’s possible some were influenced by members of The Group of Seven when they worked in Toronto’s commercial art houses.

Step back in time at Ameliasburgh Heritage Village, featuring a school house, general store, carpenter’s shop, honey house, sugar shack and more.

Ameliasburgh Heritage Village

Step back to Edwardian times at the Ameliasburgh Heritage Village, a collection of historic buildings nestled near the Harry Smith Conservation Area.

By the 1890s, The County had already seen the Barley Days come and go. It was awash in canning factories, dairies and cheese factories. But at its heart, it was an agricultural community. The Village has a heritage school and church, as well as a general store, log cabin, sugar shack, honey house and blacksmith’s shop. It will also become the permanent home of The deVries Collection, consisting of more than 500 natural history specimens and one of the finest private collections of taxidermy in the province.

A tiny communal library awaits at Rose House, once home to Germans who fought alongside the British in the American Revolution.

Rose House Museum

When upstart Americans began a rebellion against their British founders, the British not only deployed their own troops, they also made use of indentured German soldiers. The Hessians were a fearsome lot: they fought under German flags, with German commanders, and were known for using pikes as weapons. (They were famously wiped out during the Battle of Trenton, a key turning point in the American Revolution, when 1,400 Hessian fighters were killed, wounded or captured during the December 26, 1776 battle.) When the Americans at last declared victory, the British gave their hired fighters a choice: they could either receive passage home, or claim land in Canada. Rose House belonged to the descendants of one of the Hessians, who arrived in The County in one of the first waves of German immigration to Canada.

heritage history ancestry

Photos and registry documents available for exploration at the Marilyn Adams Genealogical Research Centre

Marilyn Adams Genealogical Research Centre

Marilyn Adams was a teacher with a keen interest in her family’s history. Today, her estate has become the Marilyn Adams Genealogical Research Centre, a hidden gem of family histories in Ameliasburgh. The centre’s volunteers specialize in sleuthing out nameless photos and deciphering the sometimes difficult-to-read handwriting of years gone by. Resources include a reading and library room, collections of township documents, historical and genealogical documents, a names database, microfilm readers and more. It is also home to one of the world’s most prestigious military collections, the Victoria Cross Archive, which was transferred from Britain in February 2011. They also offer library-level subscriptions to Ancestry.ca at no charge.

 

While some portions of Base31, have been fully restored, others have been claimed by the elements.

Base31

Base31 – aka Camp Picton or No. 31 Bombing and Gunnery School – was one of 151 British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) schools established across Canada between 1940-1945. Recruits from allied forces around the globe gathered at Camp Picton for training, including flying sessions out over the lake, where they dropped ‘bombs’ filled with coloured powder in an attempt to hit white canvas targets. Today, Base31 is a business park and community arts space, with many of the base’s original barracks having been painstakingly restored. But part of the charm of the place is seeing the way some of it has been lost to the elements, with Dali-esque buildings slowly swaying their way to the ground. Occasional walking tours visit the museum, the mess hall, the parachute drying building and a few of the hangars.

The Regent is a venue for art films, blockbusters, live performances, concerts and more. | Photo Credit: Daniel Vaughan

The Regent Theatre

For more than a century The Regent Theatre has provided entertainment to County residents as the “Monarch of Main Street.” The building was turned into a theatre in 1918 by George Cook, a Greek immigrant who ran the theatre with his wife and daughters. Over the years, it became an important stop on the vaudeville route, before becoming a venue for moving pictures.

For a time, Miss Supertest was the fastest hydroplane in the world, capturing trophies and reaching speeds of 124 miles/hr.

Naval Marine Archive: The Canadian Collection

Naval Marine Archive: The Canadian Collection holds a quarter of a million maritime and nautical documents, books, images, charts, magazines, journals and ship plans, plus their databases provide comprehensive marine and nautical research capability. The Naval Marine Archive hosts art exhibits, in addition to their archive and collection of marine books, ship models and displays.

Glenwood’s Stone Chapel makes a perfect spot for weddings and is home to a summertime series of concerts.

Glenwood Cemetery

Glenwood Cemetery is an active cemetery located on 62 acres of land in the heart of Picton, and a popular spot for pedestrians looking for a serene walking spot set in rolling hills. Designed as a garden cemetery, it has mature forests, gardens, water features and winding walking paths. Established in 1873, the cemetery is an unrecognized trove of Canadian history and the final resting place of Letitia Youmans, a leader of the Canadian temperance movement.

point traverse lighthouse

Point Traverse Lighthouse

At the most eastern edge of The County’s south shore lies the Prince Edward Point National Wildlife Area, home to the Point Traverse Lighthouse. The fixed red light began guiding small vessels safely to shore in 1881, in response to a plea from ship captains. The lighthouse’s lamp and reflectors were replaced by a French lens in 1909. Three years later, the Canadian government terminated the lighthouse, but reinstated its light the following year, due to demand. The light was automated in 1941 and received a heritage designation in 2015. Walking and birding tours of the area are available in the spring and fall.

During its days as the Canning County of Canada, Picton’s main street was loaded with horses and wagons full of produce. (Photo courtesy of Prince Edward County Archives)

History Lives Here

Peter Lockyer grew up in The County and has devoted much of his career to documenting the area’s history. He’s also the mastermind behind History Lives Here walking tours of downtown Picton, running May to October, taking visitors along the main and side streets, regaling them with stories of tall ships, rum running, the Barley Days, temperance and canning.

Content updated January 2020

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🍁 Maple in The County is back! 🍁 Maple seas 🍁 Maple in The County is back! 🍁

Maple season is in full swing and the celebrations in Prince Edward County will culminate in the long-awaited return of Maple in The County from March 25-26, 2023. Featuring 5 local sugarbushes and a host of local businesses, Maple in The County is a wonderful outing for the whole family. Come on out to tour a sap house, enjoy a pancake breakfast, walk through the maple woods, and so much more. Head to mapleinthecounty.ca for more information and to plan your Maple in The County route! 

Participating Sugarbushes: 

Sweetwater Cabin / Hubbs Sugarbush
Fosterholm Farms
Vader's Maple Syrup @vadersmaple 
Roblin's Maple Syrup @roblins.maple 
Loha Farms @lohafarms 

📷 by Ramesh Pooran of the Wellington Times

#PrinceEdwardCounty #PEC #CountyUp #DiscoverON #VisitTheCounty #SouthEasternOntario #TheCounty #BayOfQuinte #DiscoverOntario #Picton #SandbanksPP #VisitPEC #mapleinthecounty
🌱 Spring Countylicious 🌱 Countylicious is b 🌱 Spring Countylicious 🌱

Countylicious is back for spring from April 12 - May 1, 2023! Come out to The County for three weeks of prix fixe dining at restaurants you know, love, and have been dying to try. Stay tuned as we reveal menus and gift card giveaway from all 16 participating restaurants: 

@flameandsmith 
@7numberspicton 
@bloomfieldpublichouse 
@555brewingco 
@parsonsbrewing 
@pastaonesta 
@theroyalhotelpicton 
@TheWaringHouse 
@DrakeDevonshire 
@MerrillHouse1879 
@JacksonsFallsCountryInn 
@BocadoPEC 
@MatronFineBeer 
@StellasEatery 
@HartleysTavern 
@waupoosestatesrestaurant 

Head to http://countylicious.ca/ today to start planning your Countylicious experience.

#PrinceEdwardCounty #PEC #CountyUp #DiscoverON #VisitTheCounty #SouthEasternOntario #TheCounty #BayOfQuinte #DiscoverOntario #Picton #SandbanksPP #VisitPEC #Countylicious
🍁 Maple & More 🍷 Wondering what to do in Th 🍁 Maple & More 🍷

Wondering what to do in The County this March? Check out our latest blog for a round-up of everything you can see and do this month, from indulging in maple treats at local sugar bushes and eateries with @maplemadnesspec  and @mapleinthecounty, to tasting wines at the inaugural Élevage: PEC Winter Wine Festival hosted by @pecwine , and everything in between. We've also included a preview of what you can expect next month (hint: it's de-LICIOUS 😉).

Link in bio 👆

Image description: Sweetwater Cabin at Hubbs Sugar Bush, Maple in The County participant, taken by Karen Palmer. Above the image is a banner which reads "Experience Maple & More in The County this March." 

 #PrinceEdwardCounty #PEC #CountyUp #DiscoverON #VisitTheCounty #SouthEasternOntario #TheCounty #BayOfQuinte #DiscoverOntario #Picton #SandbanksPP #VisitPEC #MapleInTheCounty #MapleMadnessPEC #elevagepec #pecwine #MarchinTheCounty
🍷 Élevage: PEC Winter Wine Festival 🍷 Want 🍷 Élevage: PEC Winter Wine Festival 🍷

Want the chance to tour through 7 Prince Edward County winery venues while tasting wine and cider from 21 local producers?

Want to experience culinary delights from local chefs that showcase the winter cooking techniques integral to Canadian food culture?

Join us for Élevage hosted by @pecwine on March 11-12, 2023 and celebrate winter in wine country.

For more information and to purchase tickets, head to the link in our bio 👆
❤️ PEC is for Lovers ❤️⁠ ⁠ Valentine's ❤️ PEC is for Lovers ❤️⁠
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Valentine's Day is almost here! Whether you're spending the day itself in PEC or you're joining us for a romantic weekend getaway, there's plenty happening this weekend to help make for a memorable stay with your love (or your bff, we're here for platonic love too)! ⁠
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🎙️ Enjoy Dinner and a Show on Saturday night at @KarloEstates with The Bees Knees, which includes a vegan meal and wine pairings, or start your weekend with Tasty Trivia ⁠
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🖼️ Head to @oenogallery for their latest exhibition, "Conversations" and then have a conversation about your experience over a wine tasting @huffestateswine. ⁠
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🍽️ This weekend, enjoy early Valentine's Day meals at @adegapec, @wandertheresort, @flameandsmith, @grangewinery, @7numberspicton,  @the_blue_sail_seafood_company, and @TheWaringHouse. ⁠
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🧘 Start your Valentine's Day weekend with a refresh at @bodymatrixpec with Acu-Detox+Yoga.⁠
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🍫 Attend a chocolate-making workshop @shedchetwynfarms (limited spaces remain). ⁠
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💃🏻 Dance your way to Valentine's day on February 11 at @thewaringhouse and on February 13 at @stellaseatery. ⁠
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🍳 Go for brunch at @jacksonsfallscountryinn, @bermudapec, @parsonsbrewing, @karloestates, and many more delicious spots.⁠
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🧀 Have a cheesy day with a visit to @lighthallvineyards for Raclette Sunday. ⁠
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🏈 If football is your love language, spend Super Bowl Sunday in PEC at @555brewingco, @princeeddysbrewing, and @thecountycanteen.⁠
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❤️ On Valentine's Day itself experience special menus at @bloomfieldpublichouse, @creekside_cafe_pec, and @theroyalhotelpicton. ⁠
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📷️ Thanks to @OntarioTravel and @rto9_on⁠
Image Description: Two women, a couple, smile at each other while clinking glasses of white and red wine together at Adega in Consecon, PEC. ⁠
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#PrinceEdwardCounty #PEC #CountyUp #DiscoverON #VisitTheCounty #SouthEasternOntario #TheCounty #BayOfQuinte #DiscoverOntario #Picton #SandbanksPP #VisitPEC
🍔 Burger it Forward 🍔⁠ ⁠ This month, enj 🍔 Burger it Forward 🍔⁠
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This month, enjoy the signature burger at four participating restaurants in Prince Edward County and do some good. With each burger sold as part of the #BurgerItForward campaign, @lovecdnbeef will donate will donate the equivalent of 1 meal to Food Banks Canada. ⁠
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🍔 At @creekside_cafe_pec in Wellington check out their Creekside Burger, a 4 oz Local Beef Patty with Caramelized Onions, Tang Sauce, Garlic Aioli, Bread & Butter Pickles, and Cheddar Cheese. ⁠
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🍔 Head to @theacousticgrill to enjoy The Acoustic Jam, a an 8 oz Angus Beef Patty with Fresh Tomato, Greens, Onion, Horseradish Mayonnaise, Roasted Corn Salsa, and Caramelized Onions served on a Toasted Bakery Bun.⁠
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🍔 Head to @theroyalhotelpicton for The Royal Burger, which features a Canadian Beef Patty, Cheddar Cheese, Shallot Butter, Rosemary Ketchup, and Aioli.⁠
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🍔  And finally at @thewaringhouse you'll find The County Burger, an 8 oz 100% Brisket Patty topped with Canadian Cheddar, Crispy Bacon, Canadian Maple Syrup, Lettuce, Tomato, Red Onion, Pickle and Homemade Chipotle Mayo Sauce served on a Brioche Bun.⁠
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#PrinceEdwardCounty #PEC #CountyUp #DiscoverON #VisitTheCounty #SouthEasternOntario #TheCounty #BayOfQuinte #DiscoverOntario #Picton #SandbanksPP #VisitPEC
☕️ Take a Coffee (or Cocoa) Break ☕️⁠
⁠
It's a chilly one this weekend! When you need some relief from the cold, why not head inside for a bit of a winter warmer at a local café! Luckily, The County has lots of options for you and your kiddos to get warm with a coffee, hot chocolate or tea: ⁠
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🧸 Speaking of kids, if you have them you definitely want to head to @beaconbikebrew in Picton where their kid-friendly play area is perfect to keep them entertained while you relax with a brew. But thei café menu is ideal for big kids too! ⁠
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☕️ Also in Picton you’ll find @misslilyscafe, the @thebeancountercafe, and @LusoBites, where you’ll find a whole host of delicious Portuguese delights (including pastel de nata!) alongside a large coffee menu. You can also pop into @theroyalhotelpicton for a warm drink alongside a memorable cannoli. ⁠
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🫖 If tea is more your speed, don’t miss @SavonDuBois, whose apothecary is sure to provide the perfect remedy to a chilly day. ⁠
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🍵 Other spots to warm up throughout The County include @BloomfieldPublicHouse and @BloomfieldBeautyCo, @GOODPlacePEC, and @PiccolinaMercato and @demorestvillecafe_convenience. (Honourable mention to @ConseconHoneyHouseCafe who are currently hibernating like the bees, but will be back again soon.)⁠
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Image description: A young child plays with toys on the kid-friendly green carpet Beacon Bike+Brew. Their mother is on the floor with him, coffee in hand. ⁠
Image by OneLook⁠
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#PrinceEdwardCounty #PEC #CountyUp #DiscoverON #VisitTheCounty #SouthEasternOntario #TheCounty #BayOfQuinte #DiscoverOntario #Picton #SandbanksPP #VisitPEC #WinterinPEC
❄️ A Winter Bucket List for PEC ❄️⁠ ⁠ ❄️ A Winter Bucket List for PEC ❄️⁠
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We're going to let you in on one of our best-kept secrets: winter in Prince Edward County. Sure, it's colder and quieter, but for us those are just added benefits that make for some unforgettable experiences. For the uninitiated that may need some convincing, so head to our blog to discover our complete bucket list for an incredible winter experience in The County.⁠
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Link in bio 👆️⁠
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Note: this bucket list might not be accomplished in a single weekend getaway, but maybe that calls for making a PEC winter getaway a tradition. Or better yet, book a longer stay to enjoy a whole week of winter fun in The County. Discover unique and luxurious accommodations on our website at visitthecounty.com/stay⁠
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