O' Hara Mill Homestead and Conservation area
Address: 638 Mill Rd, Madoc, ON K0K 2K0, which is about 2.30 hours drive from the GTA. It is located above Peterborough and you might drive past Peterborough to get to Madoc.
We went to O’ Hara Mill Homestead on March 19 which was the day that they celebrated 1850s Sugar Bush event. We arrived there in the afternoon around 1:30 pm and there were not so many people there because the weather in March was still cold with drizzling rain with dark cloud outside. I guess that was why it was not too crowded. We caught the right time when they still served the pancakes, sausages, hot chocolate drink, fruit juice, and water. All three of us got Maple syrup pancakes. And my daughter said it was the best pancake that she has ever tried before. There is no doubt that it was the best one because the maple syrup that they served was from the local suppliers. It was just so delicious. Oh, also please note that we did not pay for those meals, it was given to us as a part of the event, but we could make a donation at a donation box nearby.
After getting our refreshment/small lunch, we brought it to the table near the wooden fire set up for us. After finishing our delicious food, we headed to see how they made the maple syrup toffee. I could not believe that the toffee was so yummy and it was also our first time trying fresh-snow toffee. After the toffee, we tried to find the wagon ride around the area, and a very kind senior gentleman who was a volunteer at the event helped us to find the wagon boarding area, but it was too late and the wagon was already over. But that was ok, we still had a lot more to explore starting from collecting the syrup from the trees to heating/vapouring into a final product. Let’s explore the process below:
Collecting maple syrup
They have many sugar maple trees on the O' Hara land. And there was a bucket placed on the side to represent how the syrup was taken in the old time. This was an empty bucket and yet they did not get any syrup. It might just be a demonstration!
Heating up to get the syrup
After collecting the syrup from the trees, there are two more heating up processes to be done (in the old time). First, taking the maple syrup (maybe from somewhere else) to put in this pot, hanging it and heating it up with the fire from the burning woods. The first heating up process took many hours, maybe around 6 to 8 hours before it was taken to another step.
Final Process
In this picture above, it is the final heating up process before we got our delicious maple syrup. And it was how people living on O' Hara land in the old time getting their syrup (using this wide open square pot). There were two people monitoring the fire and checking the thickness of the syrup by stirring it. I was told that they got started with heating up process since 8 am in the morning, and it might be continued until late in the evening until they might have notice that they get the sugar content for the syrup 66%.
O' Hara Mill Homestead has so much more to offer:
Not just only this amazing event that they offer to the community, O’ Hara also has a beautiful waterfall/rapid flowing under the rooted bridge and the unique hiking trails of its own. The top picture on the side is the entrance and it has the O’Hara sign on the gate. When I arrived for the Sugar Bush event, the gate was not open for the visitor cars to go in and we parked on the side of the road. This entrance is for the volunteers to go in only, I think. There is another entrance on the other side but it requires to pay the parking fees (around $5).
There is also a beautiful rapid fall across the mill and the flowing-water creek that you could enjoy along when you are exploring the area. The trail is pretty decent, not too long and not too short. It is a good walk for a family with kids as well. After exploring the attraction there, you could also go into a gift store (located at the side of the O’Hara house) to explore some treasures that you might find. This store sells second-hand old stuff and other art and craft things made by volunteers at very reasonable price. The store keeper has her own selections of things from photos/paintings to plates and pots, and I always buy something when I go there. However, just let you know that the store is open only on special event days.
I could not say enough incredible things about O’Hara, including very friendly people to the beautiful sceneries and interesting events. So, if you want to experience this unique place yourself, please come visit it.
