by | Jun 18, 2017 | Vintage Westport
Last week we mentioned the fire that came close to the American House Hotel. That would be the fire of March, 1923, which destroyed the Windsor Hotel along with a house to its north and two across the road. The late Beulah Knapp (Palmer) was present at the fire and...
by | Jun 18, 2017 | Vintage Westport
I’m sure that many of you can remember The Westport Inn, which had once been called the Alhambra. Standing on the outside curve of George Street, The Westport Inn was a local landmark for many years, even after its doors closed to overnight guests. Abandoned and...
by | Jun 18, 2017 | Vintage Westport
Because of the railway, the proximity to the Rideau, and the number of roads passing through it, Westport was once a hub of activity for reasons other than our current bustling tourism trade. Farmers stopping in the village to trade their livestock, cheese merchants...
by | Jun 18, 2017 | Vintage Westport
Cruises were a big deal in the late 1800’s and into the early parts of the 1900’s. Ships like “The Haggart” of Perth would ply their way along The Rideau bringing tourists, sports teams and spectators to Westport on a regular basis. For a few cents, folks could join a...
by | Jun 18, 2017 | Vintage Westport
With our first real blast of wintery weather coming up this weekend, it might be a good time to look back at what winters were like in Westport’s earlier days. Back in the days of the B & W Railway, the speediest route between two stops wasn’t always the train....
by | Jun 18, 2017 | Vintage Westport
Westport, 1871 ~ from the Archives of The Rideau District Museum Above is one of the earliest-known photographs of Westport, circa 1871. With open fields in the distance and Fredenburgh’s Furniture Factory in the foreground, many of our current landmarks are absent in...
