Rural Heritage June/July 2025

by Valerie Kirkwood O n a fine Saturday this past May 2024, the Leeds County Draft Horse Club held its monthly meeting at the Westport Carriage Museum. We had had a meeting there a number of years ago, and we decided it was time to see new additions to the collection, and to introduce our newer members to this interesting place. Westport is a friendly village near the centre of the Rideau Canal system in Eastern Ontario, Canada. It is at a crossing point between two of the larger lakes in the system, and between the rolling farmlands on the limestone plain to the south, and the more tugged landscapes of the Canadian Shield to the north. Spy Rock, located just north of the village, is a large granite outcrop in the Foley Mountain Conservation Area, which has a magnificent view of the countryside for miles and miles around. I would guess that the First Nations peoples visited this feature for thousands of years before European settlers arrived on the scene. Our congenial hosts were Dale and Lois Lyons, who have amassed this collection over a number of decades. It is housed in a modern steel-clad building just down the street from the furniture store which has been in the family since the mid 1980s, although Dale worked there prior to that time. Dale and Lois clearly enjoy showing people around the museum, and have a way of keeping their audience amused by the tales behind some of the vehicles on display. Westport Carriage Museum

A spring shaft Meadowbrook cart, one of fewer than 30 made by Keith Donnelly of Brockville, Ontario.

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