Don't Try This at Home

William Dunlop, portrait by James Bowman, 1834
Royal Ontario Museum

Many people today are of the opinion that the Victorians (or anyone living in the 19th century) were a stodgy and serious group of people concerned only with discipline, morality, and wearing too many layers of clothing. This is not true (at least not entirely). Bawdy jokes, hoaxes, cartoons, and pranks were incredibly popular - especially amongst those with a little more time on their hands...

The man pictured here once stood inside a shop in Goderich, and asked a group of newly arrived settlers to each hand him some nails from a nearby barrel. If you were one of these settlers you might think this was some sort of symbolic gesture - nails for building a new home in a new land, etc. So you line up and reach into the barrel, as these settlers did, only to discover that this gentleman, William Dunlop, a respected doctor, 1812 war veteran, journalist, and Warden of  Woods and Forests for the Canada Company, has teamed up with a friend to place a porcupine inside. Surprise!

This is pranking, 19th century style, and this wasn't the first or last time that Mr. Dunlop took part in a little schadenfreude. He once caused a fellow Canada Company official to be thrown from his horse in the woods after he, and the same accomplice from the porcupine incident, spooked it by howling like wolves. (Said official later recuperated with the dedicated care and attention of Mr. Dunlop and his liquor cabinet).

Porcupines are found all across
Canada, and are generally not con-
sidered to be, by any means, cuddly.

Sources
Royal Ontario Museum 2014, Images
Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online 2014, "Dunlop, William"
Huron County Museum 2014, "Gairbraid"

Further Reading
History Today 2014, "Victorian Jokes: The best in 19th-century humour"
Today I Found Out 2014, "The Greatest Practical Joke of the 19th Century: The Berners Street Hoax"
If you'd really like to get into the subject of Victorian honour, you can always take a course at the University of Edinburgh, "We Are [Not] Amused: Victorian Comic Literature"

Huron County Museum

Central School, constructed in 1856

A few weeks ago I happily seized upon an opportunity to visit the Huron County Museum and Historic Gaol in Goderich, Ontario. This was my first visit to the museum, though once inside I felt right at home. The permanent exhibits focus on development - development of the Huron Tract from forests to farms to thriving modern communities; development of agricultural technology and methods over the past two hundred-plus years; and the development of the people from settlers to soldiers, and from farmers to Victorian and Edwardian fashionistas.

1913 Steam Locomotive

The settlement of Goderich is a product of the Canada Company (at that time headed by John Galt), and it's Warden of the Woods and Forests, William "Tiger" Dunlop. Founded in 1827, and linked by a "muddy sleigh track" to Guelph by the following year, it became a popular destination for early British settlers. By its incorporation date in 1850, it had amassed a population of about 800 people. Today, the town of Goderich is home to 7,500.

The Huron County Museum is located near the radial core of Goderich, and is housed within a former schoolhouse (c.1856) and a large, modern addition (c.1989). The layout of the museum is such that it keeps you guessing what might be around the next corner. As I zigzagged through each space, I was constantly surprised and delighted at what I found. Particular exhibits of interest were the replica settlers' cabin (displaying the conditions in which early settlers lived), and of course the Huron County Main Street (for a little 19th century window shopping).

Two-Headed Calf

Finding Goderich and the museum is easy. When I give friends directions I always like to say that if you've driven into Lake Huron, you've gone too far. The museum itself has incredibly friendly staff, and the low admission includes your own audio guide. On your way out you can visit their gift shop and take home some very unique items - like the two-headed calf toy pictured here (they have a taxidermy specimen in the reception area that has become popular with adults and children alike). I would recommend the Huron County Museum to anyone, at any time of year. In the summer you can head out to the beach after your visit, or in the winter you can enjoy a snowy drive and Christmas shopping in the "prettiest town in Canada".

Sources
Huron County Museum and Historic Gaol Online
Hilary Stead 2002, Guelph: A People's Heritage 1827-2002
You can get a head-start by taking a look at the museum's floor plan, here.
Huron County Museum Blog, 2014

Further Reading
Ontario's West Coast 2010, "Huron History"
Immigrants to Canada, "Letters Collected by the Canada Company, to Encourage Emigration 1842" Many of these letters reference the road between Guelph and Goderich; its condition, construction, and uses.