If you’ve never heard of Westfield Heritage Village, you’re not alone. I happened to stumble across it while looking at the Hamilton Conservation site. As usual, the descriptions online were lacking so we were a little apprehensive when deciding to visit.
They have some special Halloween evenings coming up and then some Christmas activities after that.

Great History (but your kids won’t give a crap)
I love it when I stumble upon a hidden gem like this. My husband and I had a great time reading about the history of the buildings and exploring.
But –
If your kids are young like mine – they won’t give a crap about any of it!
There are things that they will like though, keep reading 🙂
Westfield Heritage Village is a pioneer village with a number of historical buildings including a blacksmith shop, homes, a school, a Queen’s Rangers’ cabin and many more.


I assumed I was going to see a bunch of re-created buildings, but most of these are the real deal. Buildings from the time periods 1775 to 1925 are arranged here to make a very lovely experience. This is not the original location of the buildings but they are cared for here by the Hamilton Conservation Authority. You can see a map and descriptions here.



So many Facebook picture opportunities :)…..This would also make a nice outing for extended family (grandparents) as each group can get something out of this trip.
The Pioneer Theme
There are costumed interpreters who work in the buildings and mingle so you can ask questions about what you are seeing.

We stopped at Eddie. D. Cat General Store – very nicely done inside and the prices were nice as well – a large assortment of candies and goods for .25 to $2.

Hint:
I scored big points with the family by buying us all candy sticks – @25 cents each. My son even told me I’m the ‘best mom ever’. Best.Mom.Ever. Makes the cavities and the sugar high all worth it!
To illustrate some of the hardships our ancestors had to endure, they don’t take debit or credit in any of the stores. Do you know how difficult it was for me to scrounge up 1 single dollar in change to buy some candy??
You can use plastic to pay the entrance fee but once you are inside its pioneer livin’ with cash only and no ATM on site.
Continuing with the theme, the toilets we saw were port-a-potty style.