Sherbrook Village and Liscomb

Another of our tender mercies took place on this day.  We were scheduled to walk through Sherbrook Village which is a collection of over 80 homes and buildings from over a 50 year period starting in 1860 that have been restored to their original form.  The village was build on the St. Mary's river which was their connection to the outside world.  Rather than having the area torn down they tore out modern windows and roofs and restored things to their original form and opened the city as an open air museum.  When it is open there are costumed workers in the exhibits like the sawmill and boat builders.
Because of lack of funds in the Nova Scotia government they were shut down two weeks early and therefore it was officially closed.  It was, in some ways, our blessing.  There were people there covering windows and other shut down work and they went out of their way to take us places, answer questions and give us tours.  I'm sure that we got far more attention than the typical tourist would. 
The community in the late 1800s and early 1900s benefited from one of the many gold rushes, as did the surrounding communities. Miners came from all over Canada and the United States to stake a claim in the gold. We were taken on a walk over to some old, original gold processing equipment and the water wheel run sawmill. 

Some of the homes are still owned by families and are private. They close the roads for the day but open in the night so that the roads will be maintained by the city. 

After we left Sherbrook Village we drove to the Birchill B&B which was another of our treasures.  The spacious rooms were built into the basement of the home and were very comfortable and well furnished.  We each had our separate baths and were fed our breakfast upstairs in a sunny room. When we arrived a cute blonde lady bounded down the stairs and welcomed us.  The home is set on more than an acre of beautifully manicured landscape and there is a hot tub room available for guests, too.  She told us that some people stayed two weeks this summer and we could see why.  It was so comfortable, relaxing and close to the ocean and rivers.  

(These two pictures were along the millrace to the sawmill.  I don't know how they got to this spot but I don't know how to move them.)

We were told that we should have the salmon plank dinner at the Liscomb Lodge that evening by someone at the Village.  It was a lovely setting but not that great and to us, overpriced.