As soon as I set foot inside this house, I decided I’d be using my cell phone for photos rather than my wide angle. The reason was there was just too much garbage packed into tight density. There were boxes, letters, bags and assorted garbage covering the floors of every room. Even the stairs were packed with clutter, making it somewhat challenging to navigate the way between rooms.

From what I could gather, three different occupants once lived in this house, one being a Doctor. From the clutter inside, it doesn’t appear that this was the result of people rummaging through the house but rather the way it had been left by the last occupants.

With the exception of the first two images, these were taken with my cell phone.

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This beautiful stone house began as a clapboard homestead built in 1870 on 14 acres of land. It was constructed out of hand-cut lumber taken from the property, with a roof made of cedar shingles and batten outer walls.

In 1926, the property was purchased by Sarah and Stanley Gamble, who lived in Detroit. Stanley was a brick mason and had worked on the Empire State Building. The property served as a summer retreat for the couple but tragedy struck when Sarah and their infant son died during childbirth. In honour of his late wife, Stanley transformed the property into a cobblestone cottage using stones from the Thames riverbed.

Annie Edith Aldred, the youngest child of Robert and Alice Aldred, was passing by the Little Stone House. She saw it’s potential as a tea house while on vacation in Ontario. She formed a partnership with Stanley and they started the Little Stone Tea House. Annie eventually purchasing the property in 1935 with her brother Arnold (not sourced).

A west side addition was constructed, and a second chimney was added. Stanley salvaged windows and other items from salvage yards in Detroit for use in the construction of the cottage. Random items such as a cannonball can be found embedded in the walls, and tables and chairs were created during the winter of 1936 by Robert’s father and grandfather.

The western addition was named the Moravian Room, and a courtyard was built in the back of the house. A 16-foot-deep water well was dug by hand, and a trench was constructed to connect the water supply to the house, with a hand pump providing water for the gardens.

Stan’s older brother Roy was an artist and required a peaceful place to work, so Stan purchased an older pioneer cabin. After the foundation was built and the cellar constructed, the cabin was reassembled with brick mortar consisting of cement, lime, and sand. However, due to moisture getting into the logs and causing the structure to become unstable, the barn was taken down in 2003.

The Tea House gained popularity and was listed in the American Automobile Association directory. However, business declined during World War II, forcing the tea house to close in 1942. Annie moved to Ottawa to work in the government’s finance department but returned in 1946 to reopen the Little Stone Tea House.

Weddings were held on the grounds from the 1950s to the 1970s, with plant boxes and a wisteria vine plant taking over the front of the house.

Stanley passed away on the property in April 1952. Annie closed the business in 1958 and lived in the Little Stone House until 1980, when her health deteriorated and she moved into a nursing home.

Note: Please don’t trespass. The family has been seeing a lot of break ins.

Sources: communitystories.ca

Historical Photos

Cell Phone Photos

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This was the home of Mary Frances Longwill, who passed away in 2014. In the later years, a business named Urban Flora operated out of the home. Given the industrial equipment out back, it’s safe to say that the house’s days are numbered. These photos are terrible.

Real Estate Photos from Zillow.com

This location really had little to offer except for the one shot in the basement. The house was built in 1910 and sold to a developer in 2020 for $400,000.

I could find no information on who lived here, except for a name that revealed no results.

There were several model trains at the time this house made the rounds on the internet, all of which have mysteriously disappeared.

There’s a little rail track set up in the living room and in the basement a eight layer track. The track was designed with LED train signal lights and toggle switches to control each level.

I find model trains like this to be exciting when they’re extensive, and connect with other levels.

Nothing particularly exciting otherwise.

The house was good for the one shot only. 🙂

We returned to Sandra’s House in winter 2023. I can find absolutely no mention of her online except for a private Instagram profile and an empty Facebook profile. The mystery of why the family left, remains just that. The house sits along a quiet road in southern Ontario.

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I don’t have much background information on this property except that in 2012 it was listed under the name of a woman named Maria, with a German last name. We explored this house in February of 2023, and it had electricity. There’s quite a bit of decay in the form of the ceiling having water damage and fallen down, buckled floors and peeling paint. There’s also black mold on one of the doors.

The appearance of the dining room however is what stood out to me as it looked like someone was getting ready to sit down to eat. Most likely the table was staged for photography.

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Nothing really exciting about this house except for the wooden kitchen set and buffet.

Cell Phone Photos

This property has five bedrooms and six bathrooms. It was on the market back in 2016 for $2.7 million dollars. Today it sits vacant. There are no signs of renovations nor demolition in progress.

I don’t have a lot of information on this particular location. The man who lived here apparently had some legal issues and his lawyer had been unsuccessful in receiving payment. This isn’t a time capsule as it’s quite messy and has been picked through. There’s still quite a bit of original possessions however, so I consider this place to be a ‘time crapsule’.

Inside the front entrance were many assorted 45 RPM records. Out in a shed I found dozens of 33 RPM albums. Based on some of the items found, I believe the man worked for a company named Fowler Construction.

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