Categories: Travel

This ‘near abandoned’ village in Ontario is frozen in time

Image via Visit Port Hope

A trip to this Ontario village will feel like you entered a time machine! Wesleyville Village, Ontario is a community frozen in the 19th century, and while it’s ‘near-abandoned’ it’s a slice of history you should check out if you get the chance.

Wesleyville Village

If you’re located in or near Toronto getting to Wesleyville Village will take you around an hour and a half by car.

The village is found along the north shore of Lake Ontario in Port Hope, Ontario!

The history of Wesleyville Village dates back to the 1860s when the area was full of life. Back then, the village thrived with “a school, a church, post office, blacksmith shop, a cobbler and a carpenter – and a tavern operating from 1861 to 1964.”

From thriving to nearly-abandoned. A hydro company bought the properties of Wesleyville Village, Ontario and surrounding farms in the late 1960s to “build an oil-fired power plant nearby”. The plant was never commissioned and farmhouses were torn down and barns removed over the years, but the village remained intact.

Present day

According to Port Hope’s tourism website, a cultural revival is underway for this small but mighty village.

Friends of Weselyville is a volunteer group that has come together to restore parts of the area including the 1860 church and planned to restore the historic Barrowclough house and barn.

There’s also a captivating nature trail and the historic Y-shaped Oughtred house to discover and explore.

This little piece of frozen history is making its comeback!