Sainte-Marie among the Hurons, French Jesuit mission station in Midland, Canada.
Sainte-Marie among the Hurons is a reconstructed mission station and national historic site in Midland, Canada, dating back to the 1600s. Along the Wye River stand log buildings, workshops and a small chapel inside a wooden palisade, displaying replicas of both European and indigenous construction methods.
French Jesuits founded the settlement in 1639 as the first permanent European outpost in Ontario, expanding it to more than 60 residents within a few years. In spring 1649, the missionaries destroyed their own compound to keep it from advancing opponents.
The name Sainte-Marie-au-pays-des-Hurons refers to the Wendat homeland, called Huronia by the French. Jean de Brébeuf wrote the Huron Carol here, a Christmas hymn in the Wendat language that Canadian churches still sing. Costumed interpreters demonstrate Wendat and French crafts, and the mission's chapel holds a shrine to the eight canonized martyrs.
The museum opens its doors from May through October and offers guided tours several times a day that move between the buildings. Sturdy footwear helps on the unpaved paths, and most structures are accessible at ground level.
Archaeologists uncovered the charred remains of wooden buildings in the 20th century, revealing the exact layout of the compound. These finds allowed for a detailed rebuild that even traced the position of individual posts.
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