An enchanting lakeside Ontario village is frozen in the 19th century

Wesleyville is a tiny time capsule here in Ontario. The village sits along the shores of Lake Ontario, nestled between Port Granby and Port Britain.

While it may seem like just another village among the many in the province, this spot has a fascinating backstory that’s led to it “being frozen in time.”

According to Wesleyville’s website, “The heritage village exudes a relaxed, peaceful aura, with the only sounds coming from the birds that flit from tree to tree and among the time-weathered headstones in the graveyard at the rear of the grounds.” Sounds ghostly. 

The history of Wesleyville

The 1800s were Wesleyville’s time to shine. By 1860, the village had a school, a church, a post office, a blacksmith shop, a cobbler and a carpenter. There was even a busy tavern that was open from 1861 to 1964.

So, what happened to this happenin’ place?

As Port Hope Tourism tells it, Ontario Hydro bought the properties and surrounding farms of Wesleyville in the late 1960s. The purpose of the purchase was to build an oil-fired power plant nearby, but the plant was never commissioned.

Farmhouses were torn down and barns removed over the years, but the bones of the village remained.

Restoring the area

Friends of Wesleyville is a group of volunteers that has been working on restoring some of the village’s most prominent spots to preserve the area’s history. So far, the group has restored the 1860 church and has started work on the 1899 one-room schoolhouse.

Currently, there are plans to restore “the historic Barrowclough house and barn, first owned by one of the village founders, John Barrowclough.”

If you want to visit this fascinating place, Wesleyville does have a couple of requests. The village notes that due to the restoration efforts, the area is not actually abandoned; therefore, they ask that anyone who visits treat the village with the respect you’d show to any other functioning community.

Anyone dropping by the village is also asked to park along the main laneway or within the side yard of the Wesleyville United Church.

Did ya learn something new today, Ontario?

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