Updated May 01, 2025
This kit was created to assist you in completing the Pioneer History Challenge Kit. Included are facts, stories, crafts, games, recipes and information that can be copied and distributed to the participants working on this kit.
Beginning in the early 1600s, people from European countries like England, France, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands travelled to what would later be known as Canada. These people had different reasons for leaving their home countries. Some people could not find jobs in their countries and thought that good fortune could be found in a new land; others wanted to be able to freely practice their religion and did not like the way of life in their home countries. A lot of people came from countries where cities were overcrowded and polluted; they wanted to farm and own land.
Oftentimes, the men went across first to secure land and jobs, sending word back to their wives to bring their families over when they were settled. Sometimes single men immigrated alone, in hopes of finding love and security in the new world.
To get to Canada from Europe, people had to travel all the way across the Atlantic Ocean in ships. The journey was long, uncomfortable and often dangerous. Some people took sailing ships—ships powered by the wind using big, wide sails. Travelling by sailing ship could take as long as a month. Other people took steamships—ships propelled by steam power—in order to get to Canada faster. The type of ship taken often depended on income, with poorer colonizers forced to take sailing ships that often had worse conditions.
They could make it to Canada in two weeks by steamship, but the living conditions on the ship were grim. Large groups of families and all of their belongings would crowd together. People were cramped, and the boats were dirty; they could not bathe themselves or wash their clothes. Poor families who could not afford to pay for a room slept in the steerage, an area under the deck.
With so many people crowded together and the constant rocking and wetness of the boats, travellers often became sick. Sadly, people sometimes did not make it to Canada at all. Still, driven by the promise of a new and better life, the pioneers would keep up their morale by singing together, playing cards, and talking to all of the people they met aboard the ship.
When the pioneers finally reached land—usually at ports in Halifax, Quebec City, or Montreal—they would then travel by train to their final destinations. In the earliest days, when train infrastructure didn't yet exist, pioneers road horses, walked or drove carts drawn by horses/oxen. Many pioneers settled in the prairies, where there was lots of wide open land to build farms.
The first settlement that made its permanent home in Canada was founded by Samuel de Champlain in 1604. The settlement stood near the Bay of Fundy, which can be found between the provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Samuel de Champlain was a French explorer who worked under the reign of King Henry IV of France. He called the settlement Acadia. Acadia actually had two locations throughout the very early 1600s. In 1604, Champlain founded Acadia on Île Ste-Croix.
That year, a harsh winter fell over Acadia that killed half the settlers. Because of the tragedy, Acadia on Île Ste-Croix failed and was relocated to Port-Royal on the Bay of Fundy in 1605. This new location only lasted two years, however, and was abandoned in 1607. Champlain established Acadia in Port-Royal once again in 1610 and then another time in 1630.
France finally gained ownership of the land in 1632, but that was not the end of Acadia’s troubles. The British fought the French for Acadia throughout the 1700s, and eventually forced them out of Acadia in the 1750s. The act of forcing the French out of Acadia to other English colonies is called deportation. Nothing was certain for early Canadian pioneers!
Many pioneers believed that some diseases were caused by poisoned blood. If someone was sick, they would often visit a barber who performed bloodletting—making small cuts and draining the infected blood. Barbers were essential healthcare workers, often doubling as surgeons and dentists.
A shanty was a quick and easy shelter that the pioneers built when they first arrived in Canada. The pioneers needed somewhere to stay while they tried to establish their farms and explore the new land. Shanties had only one or two rooms; they resembled sheds. They were constructed using wood. If the shanty had windows, they were often covered by wax paper, rather than glass.
A common type of house that pioneers built and lived in was the log cabin. The pioneers would make a foundation and then lay the logs on top of each other horizontally to build walls. They used a technique called rabbeting to stack the logs, where they cut grooves into the logs so that they fit into each other. Any cracks or gaps between the logs were filled in using a mixture of mud and wheat or prairie grass. The interlocked logs held strong against cold Canadian winters.
Some of the First Nations also used wooden frames and cedar wood planks to make their houses.
Pioneers usually lived in frame houses once their families and farms had been fully established. Frame houses tended to be quite a bit bigger than log houses and shanties. The houses had a sturdy stone foundation. They were then constructed using planks and boards made at a sawmill. The roofs were covered with shingles. Overall, the house was more durable and fit for a big family’s long-term stay.
The Bark Canoe is a kind of boat invented by the First Nations. They used it to travel long distances up and down the rivers. The canoe was made of birch bark and a wooden frame. The First Nations would build the canoe frame out of wood and then take a thin sheet of bark and mould it so that it wrapped around the frame. Because the sheet of bark was so thin, the canoe was fragile but very light and easy to carry. The First Nations often decorated their canoes by painting beautiful patterns and pictures onto the wood.
The dugout canoe was first invented by the First Nations and then adopted by early pioneers. The way the canoe was made is in the name; people would take a tree trunk with a softwood (like cedar or basswood) and hollow it out. The First Nations hollowed the trunk out by making isolated fires that would burn the wood away. When they were done constructing the canoe, they decorated it with natural paints like black char and red ochre. The pioneers had cutting tools so that they would cut and scrape the wood out. The canoes varied in size depending on the size of the tree trunk. Some dugout canoes could hold up to 40 people!
Some settlers travelled long distances across the prairie, like people coming from America. These people would pack up their lives and travel in big horse-drawn wagons with a wooden framework. The framework was covered by big white sheets of canvas. Covered wagons were like the trailers we have today—they became the homes of travellers for months at a time. The pioneers carried all of their belongings in the wagons: furniture, food, clothing, tools, etc. People even brought cattle and chickens with them! They could tie the cattle to the wagons and keep the chickens in the wagon in coops. They cooked their meals outside and slept in the wagons at night if there was space. Sleeping by the fire was not uncommon, as it was warmer than the chilly night air.
Pioneer settlements functioned the same way that many cities do nowadays. Their towns had certain occupations that were necessary for the success and growth of the community. Certain people were specially trained for their jobs; for instance, a doctor or a blacksmith had to be trained in their field before they opened a shop. Boys were usually trained to be wheelwrights and coopers, while girls were usually trained to be spinners or candle makers. Here are some essential pioneer occupations:
The Shopkeeper ran the General Store, which was a central part of the pioneer community. The General Store stocked important items like canned goods, seeds for farmers, material to make clothing, and cooking supplies. People could ask the Shopkeeper to place orders for items and the General Store would receive them. General Stores also had a post office area where people of the community could send mail. Occasionally, the post office was a separate building or even part of the train station.
The Blacksmith worked at the Blacksmith shop. Blacksmiths made tools like knives and nails, as well as horseshoes, to protect horse hoofs. People would also bring their broken tools and machinery to the Blacksmith to be fixed.
The Cooper made barrels, buckets, and pails. The Cooper made his containers using wooden planks cut carefully so that they fitted tightly together.
The Printer worked at the Print Shop. They made things like books, newspapers, and advertisements.
The Cabinetmaker worked with wood to build things like furniture and to repair musical instruments. They also made coffins and managed funeral arrangements.
The Doctor often worked from his own house. He would have a special room on the side of his house where he would meet and treat patients. The Doctor would also travel out of town to visit sick people on farms or in other towns that did not have Doctors. Many pioneer towns did not have Doctors, and they were very lucky if they did.
The Priest worked at the community church. Churches were essential parts of the community, tying townspeople together under a shared faith. The members of the community built the church together. It was the Priest’s job to perform weddings and baptisms, as well as to conduct funerals and bury the dead. At the church, the settlers held community events like bazaars (markets), choir practices, concerts, picnics, sewing groups, and Sunday school for the children.
The Miller worked at the Gristmill. The Miller worked the machinery in the mill that ground grains into flour. The Gristmill was a central part of the community; virtually every member of the community was a customer. Gristmills were located on the banks of a river. They had a big waterwheel that provided the power for the machinery. The fast-flowing water turned the waterwheel, which turned millstones, which ground the grain. The Miller knew how to operate and adjust the machinery and fix any parts that broke.
The Silversmith worked with precious metals copper, silver, brass, and gold to make things like cutlery, kitchenware, and jewelry.
The Teacher worked at the School. Their duties were largely the same as those of teachers today; they taught the students subjects like reading, writing, and arithmetic. Both men and women could be teachers. Before the first schools were built, children were taught in places like the church, the general store, or in someone’s home. Once the schools were built, they began as simple log cabins with wooden benches and a wood stove in the middle. Over time, as communities grew and became wealthier, schools became bigger and nicer.
The pioneers did not have many clothes, and most of the clothes they did have were homemade. The women had to know how to weave and sew in order to make and mend clothing for their families. The material was often made from wool acquired from the family’s own sheep and linen made from flax plants.
The cloth was not very colourful, although it could be dyed using natural ingredients like roots, leaves, flowers, bark, and berries. Clothing was also made using animal hides like rabbit fur and deer skin. Articles of clothing like shoes, belts, gloves, and hats were made using leather acquired from cows.
Fancier material could be bought at the General Store. The store sold bolts of denim, cotton, flannel, linen, gingham, and muslin. Pioneers could also buy sewing tools like needles, scissors, pins, thread, dyes, and buttons from the General Store. The material from old and worn out clothes could be woven into rugs and quilts.
Only 10% of the pioneers lived in cities in the early 1800s. The rest lived and worked on farms.
Women and girls wore long dresses. Pioneer dresses were designed to cover most of their body; their skirts were nearly floor-length, their sleeves were long, and their necks were high. The women wore petticoats under their dresses and aprons over their dresses to protect them while they worked in the house and the garden. Their aprons often had pockets to carry things like eggs, wood, and vegetables. A full apron that covered the whole front of a dress was called a pinafore. Pinafores sometimes had frills along the bottom for decoration.
Many women wore cloth hats called bonnets. Bonnets covered the women’s hair and had wide brims to protect their faces from the sun.
In terms of footwear, women wore long stockings and long shoes that laced up.
During cold weather, women often wore two dresses, an extra petticoat, and shawls to bundle up.
Men and boys usually wore clothes that were appropriate for doing lots of physical work. They wore long pants held up by suspenders. Their shirts were long-sleeved, but could be rolled up if they got hot. Men often wore wide-brimmed straw hats to protect their faces from the sun while they worked in the farm fields.
For occasions where men had to dress up, they would wear a suit jacket or a vest, trousers, a nice shirt, and maybe a felt hat.
During cold weather, men and boys would wear long, woollen underwear to help keep them warm.
During the 1600s, European fishermen used to catch large amounts of Cod from the waters near Newfoundland. It would take them several weeks at a time to catch enough fish. The fishermen wanted to maintain a good relationship with the First Nations during that time, so the two groups of people decided they would trade goods with one another.
The Europeans had metal tools like iron knives, axes, and copper kettles; the First Nations had furs and fresh meat. The furs that the fishermen brought back to Europe became very fashionable. Felt hats became extremely popular in Europe, and the beaver pelts from which they were made were in higher and higher demand. The Fur Trade really took off from there!
In the 1700s, French traders established permanent trading posts in Acadia, Québec City, and Tadoussac (a city in Québec). The English established their own Fur Trade posts at Hudson’s Bay. Due to the success of the Fur Trade, the English founded the Hudson’s Bay Company, which still exists today!
The First Nations people often grew corn, beans, and squash in their gardens. They called the vegetable trio the Three Sisters because the three plants help each other grow. Sister Corn grows to be tall. Sister Bean can grow bigger and taller by wrapping around Sister Corn. Sister Squash grows in the ground and prevents weeds from sprouting around the other plants.
The Three Sisters are very healthy and nutritious vegetables. The Iroquois believed that the Three Sisters were a gift from the Creator and called them “sustainers of life.” It was their custom that the Three Sisters always be planted together and eaten together. It was thought that the well-being of their crops was due to the protection of the spirits of the Three Sisters; the Sisters watched over the crops and each other, helping the First Nations people to be strong and healthy.
The legend of the Three Sisters varies from tribe to tribe, but it was first told by the Iroquois people.
High above the Earth, in an upper world above the clouds, lived Sky Woman. Sky Woman liked to peer through a hole in the soft clouds down at the endless sea below. Sky Woman became pregnant. She would peer through the clouds while rubbing her round, swollen belly.
One day, while peering at the vast blue sea, Sky Woman leaned too close and fell through the hole. Down she fell towards the endless sea. The animals of the sea feared for Sky Woman’s life and scrambled to save her. They pushed the dirt from the bottom of the sea up to the water’s surface to create a giant turtle for Sky Woman to land on. They called it Turtle Island; we know it today as North America.
When Sky Woman landed on Turtle Island, she gave birth to a little girl. Her daughter grew into a beautiful woman. Sky Woman’s daughter fell in love with the West Wind and together they bore two twin boys. Sadly, Sky Woman’s daughter died giving birth to her children. Sky Woman, heartbroken, buried her beautiful daughter in the Earth. From this “new earth” grew three plants. These plants were the Three Sisters—Sister Corn, Sister Bean, and Sister Squash. These sacred plants fed Sky Woman’s grandchildren and the rest of humanity. The Three Sisters, born from her daughter’s grave, have kept the Iroquois people strong and healthy ever since.
Ask your group what they think each pioneer word means. Have them guess the definition, and then tell them the real answer!
| Artisan | Someone who is skilled at a trade, like a blacksmith or a carpenter. |
| Bed Tick | A mattress made by filling a sack with straw, feathers, or corn husks. |
| Bee | A sort of party where a group of people from the community get together to work on things like husking corn, quilt making, or building a barn. |
| Betty Lamp | A candle made by filling a bowl with animal fat and burning a wick in it. |
| Chamber Pot | A ceramic pot used as a toilet. When they became full, pioneers would empty them and reuse them. |
| Crock | A pot made of clay or stone. |
| Drawknife | A blade that woodworkers used to shave wood. The knife had handles on both ends so that the woodworker could hold a good grip. |
| Epidemic | A sudden disease that spreads through a large group of people. |
| Forge | A raised fireplace that a blacksmith works on. |
| Game | Wild animals that pioneers hunted for food and fur. |
| Grittle | A flat metal pan that pioneers used to cook on. |
| Hide | Animal skin. |
| Homestead | The land and buildings that make up someone’s property. |
| Mouser | A cat that was trained to hunt mice and rats. |
| Reel | A lively dance with lots of twirling. |
| Shift | A light dress that pioneer women wore as underwear or as a nightgown. |
| Smokehouse | A small building where meat was hung up over a fire to be dried out and preserved. |
| Tallow | Melted animal fat that pioneers used to make soap and candles. |
| Trapper | Someone who hunts animals and trades their pelts. |
| Treenware | Household items are made of wood, such as bowls, spoons, buckets, and plates. |
| Washboard | A board with grooves on it that pioneers used to scrub their laundry. |
Just as pioneer girls helped with the women’s chores, pioneer boys helped with the men’s chores. Some of their day-to-day activities included:
Like pioneer girls, pioneer boys would go to school if they lived close enough to one.
The Hudson’s Bay Company, more commonly known today as The Bay, has been around since pioneer times. The HBC began as a trading company in 1670.
Once you have finished this challenge kit, use code ECK016 for 20% off the Pioneers badge!
This Meeting Plan was researched and written by our intern Sara McGuire.
