Fanshawe Pioneer Village

As a new arrival to London, I was in search of cool local things to do when my sister came to visit me from the states. Luckily for us, Fanshawe Pioneer Village was having a summer agricultural fair that weekend (thanks to the Unilocal events page, which is where I saw the listing!)
I wasn’t sure what to expect, and I was pleasantly surprised. The «pioneer village» is a collection of historical houses and other buildings that have been moved from their original locations to a central area, for preservation and education. They’ve set things up roughly as a rural village would have been. It was surprisingly cool, and would have been so even if it weren’t a special festival day. They had several fully furnished historical houses, including the childhood home of Paul Peel, who (I learned) was the first Canadian painters who was a hit in Europe. You’ll see a blacksmith, carpenter’s, and print-​making shop, as well as a couple of churches and school rooms. There’s a masonic lodge, and even an old (alas, no longer operational) brewery!
And because it was a special fair day, there were a handful of costumed folks around doing historical reenactments, as well as free hayrides (woo!) out to a field to see threshing demonstrations. The village is a working farm! They also hosted a square dance as part of the fair festivities, which was filled with old folks who were dressed for square dancing and obviously knew what they were doing. Intimidated by their square dancing prowess, I didn’t stay.
Parking is free, and admission is $ 7 per adult. The GPS gave me reliable directions; you have to go in past a little gate into what appears to be an official city park or recreational area to get there. If anyone in your group has mobility issues, be warned that there’s a decent amount of walking, although all of the surfaces are pretty flat.
I’m sure this is a place that every Londoner went to on a school field trip at some point. But it’s worth a return visit as an adult, especially if you have any interest in history or historical architecture. It’s cool to see so many old, preserved buildings (and a couple of more recent recreations) all in one place.
Keep an eye on their event calendar — in October sometime they do some kind of battle reenactment. I’ll be back for sure!