Digging into the past at Dundurn

Last Saturday afternoon, i had the priveledge (lege??) of being a tourist in my own home town. My Mom, Carina and I made the lengthy trek downtown to the site of Dundurn Castle, home of the late, great Sir Allan Macnab, his legendary gouty feet and his family. He was quite an important guy in our local history, and it was neat to learn again all about him and his contributions to our community. He had a busy career as a land speculator, working to develop many properties in this once small city. Sir Allan was also very prominent in the railway industry and was a soldier during the war of 1812. He was also a local militia officer during the Upper Canada rebellion. He took part in the blowing up of a steamship above Niagara Falls that was being used to support the rebels from the American side of things. He was knighted for his bravery in this escapade and became a prominent citizen in our city. He was married twice, lost both wives young and had 4 children. His sister or sister-in-law came to live with the family after his second wife got sick and she was left with the house when he died due to complications of gout. He left his estate in quite a bit of financial trouble and most of the household goods were sold off to pay off his debts. Poor fellow, he achieved so much in life and ended his life in poverty. The house itself is quite interesting and opulent. The furniture in the house is reminiscent of the time period of the 1850s and we were led through the house by costumed guides who told us tales of the family, their history and life during that time period. The house is called Dundurn meaning "strong fort" in Gaelic. I love history (can you tell?) I've included a bunch of pics from our dagje uit. Enjoy!!

Carina and I freezing our butts off posing in front of the house!
Mom and Carina in the military museum, playing checkers in an attempt to develop militarily strategic minds whilst being super annoyed by a one-tune tin whistler playing non-stop overhead!
One of my favorite shots, in the scullery maid's quarters in the basement... i love the lighting!
One of the most unfavorite memories i have of Dundurn, the ice shaft. I was always petrified of this dark cavern where the ice was brought up from Hamilton Harbour and packed in sawdust to provide ice through the summer. I always spooked myself here... and holding true to my scaring tendencies, the fears still were there... maybe it's the bars and the dark.Carina and the ultra-modern indoor "flush" toilet! We were quite intrigued by this!

The opulent dining room. Molly is filling us in on the dining customs and telling us all about the butler's duties!

Carina and Mom attempting to be "elegant" whilst traipsing down the main staircase... they also enjoyed shaking the staircase while i was making my way down very cautiously, i can't say i enjoy staircases that sway!

Carina studiously ignoring my foolish antics in the soldier's uniforms

Cooking up some good old bread over the fire. You can do anything if you only imagine. Never mind that i had to wait until all the other little rugrats were finally gone before i could finally jump in and play. Carina and Mom were quite amused that before i even got 2.5 seconds into my role-playing, another family with kids walked in... i never get to have any fun!

A parting shot of Dundurn against an amazing sky!