Canadiana" is the story relived in a few hours of what was everyday life at the beginning of the century. It is also the result of more than twenty-five years of patient recovery carried out by a couple in love with Canadian heritage.

It all started in 1950, when Mr and Mrs Earle and Nora Moore bought a 140-acre site located in Rawdon. At that time, the site only included the farm house (Farm House, 1867) that belonged to one of the pioneers of Rawdon, Mr George Copping. In order to furnish the house in an antique style, the Moores began to attend auctions and then discovered a passion for antiques. In addition, the latter noticed that a maddening quantity of historical pieces was heading for the United States and the Moores then began to "save from export" the testimonies of our know-how and our history. Quickly, the space runs out to store furniture and objects, and the opportunity to buy a first historic building arises. So whenever they learn that a historic building is about to be demolished, the Moores try to get it for the best price.

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Over time, through purchases and certain donations. the Moores brought together: a school (Logan School House, 1835), a general store (General Store, 1884), a blacksmith shop (The Amos Riddell's Blacksmith Shop, 1895), a covered bridge (Edward's Bridge, 1888), a rectory ( 1835), a church (St-John's Church in Kildare, 1849), the Westgate house (1830), a grain mill (Rowan's Mill or Grill Mist, 1867), a doctor's office, a notary's house, a veterinarian... Each of the buildings is furnished with period supplies.

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Gradually, donors and history buffs came to visit the site, and the word spread, and thus the Canadiana village-museum was born. Considered a major attraction in Quebec in the 1980s, the site was open to the public until 1996 with nearly 30,000 visitors.

Since then, the place has been operated exclusively as a filming site and has hosted more than a hundred film productions, including several international productions featuring top actors such as Richard Gere, Bruce Willis and many others. More recently, the site has been the outdoor filming location for the series "The Pays d'en Haut". The site is well known in the region and in neighboring towns and many Lanaudière residents are nostalgic for the Canadiana Village of their childhood.

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