Right next door to Cobalt, on the shores of Lake Timiskaming, is the quaint town of Haileybury.
We drove along the beautiful road that hugs the shoreline and enjoyed the architecture of Millionaire Row. There were some additions to the decor to reflect current events.
Talking about millionaires, we came upon this abandoned structure and were very curious to find out what it was.
Was it a hotel? A hospital? It just seemed so out-of-place here.
After intense Googling “abandoned structures in Haileybury, Ontario” we found some interesting information. This article describing the sad outcome of family fortunes lost to the downturn in the US housing economy. The “largest home in Canada” went on sale in 2010 to pay off creditors. The story is further complicated by some connections to a large-scale mortgage fraud and the disappearance of a young lawyer. Sounds like this “house” has bad karma.
In 1922, disaster struck the area, and a great fire destroyed about 90 percent of the town, leaving about 3,500 people homeless.
What an eerie sight it must have been.
But Haileybury is more than dark stories; it’s a beautiful town with a rich history, beautiful coastline, cliffs, museums, and quaint stores. We’ll be back!
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wow, what an interesting history, and clearly people who have been down and made amazing comebacks. the abandoned house looks cold and creepy to me, not a like a home, with bad karma to boot )
We thought it was creepy too. And very out of place. The area is so beautiful…I hope someone will buy it and make some changes to make it fit in a little better. Can you change karma?
that would be great. maybe? hopefully
A lovely little town with a hint of mystery!
This is how we like them 🙂
any town that sits on the edge of a lake can’t be all bad 🙂
Indeed!
A great history lesson – thanks for sharing the story. One never knows what the small towns have endured until you check them out. That was a very unusual looking house and apparently with a mysterious story – if the walls could speak. Hmmmm
That’s what I was thinking 🙂
We here in Australia know full well how a fire can destroy towns. But Haileybury has another connection in Australia. Biggest private school. Have a look at https://www.haileybury.com.au/
You sure do! I believe that the town is named after the town’s founder, Charles C. Farr’s, alma mater in Hertford, England. You made me wonder though about connections between the colonies at the time though and found that there was some Australian immigration to Canada during the gold rush. There is a modern connection to Australia since the rising demand for Cobalt since Australia is another source for Cobalt.
Of course I have posted before about my grandfather who worked in Canada in 1900s in Saskatoon.
Oh, cool! I will look for this post!
It’s called Grandpa in Saskatoon. https://wp.me/p8PuzR-2h
It’s called Grandpa in Saskatoon.
Found it. He was quite the man!
He was. Unfortunately I wasn’t old enough to get to know him very well.
Your introspections are brilliant!! I love the human centered theme ‘Still Standing’ connecting Canada on a collective level. Maybe you’ll bump into Constable George Crabtree (Jonny Harris) on your travels.
See ya guys on the road one day! We’re looking at Sturgeon Lake or Armstrong (the highest spot a road can take you in Ontario) in October.
Thanks! We will actually be going that was in a few days! Depending on the actual time we will end up having, we were planning to do the Armstrong Lake loop, or Pickle Lake. If we don’t have enough time, we plan to do this September or October, so we just might have an Armstrong Lake rendezvous 🙂