The Sugar Shack

In days gone by, smoke and steam rising from the sugar shack meant one thing, Spring was coming! The production of Maple Syrup was common on many homesteads in the 1800s, and this was certainly the case for the O’Hara Family. The construction of our Sugar Shack was inspired by a photo from the O’Hara archives, and the stone arch remains of the original 19th century maple syrup operation. These remains are still visible on the O’Hara grounds, and can be located just off of the Lois Wishart Way trail.

These pieces of history, allowed volunteers to build a sugar shack that recreates the exact process the O’Hara’s used over 200 years ago. During our March ‘1850s Sugar Bush Event’, you can experience it all first-hand, as volunteers boil sap collected from our heritage maples, in large cast iron cauldrons outside, before finishing it in a flat pan over the wood fire, just as the O’Hara’s would have.

For the full story of our Sugar Shack, click here.