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Total Locations: 1280 |
Total Towns: 233 |
User Photos: 13426 |
THAMESVILLE
(Botany, Dresden,
Kent Bridge, Florence, McKay's Corners)
Since
I was a child, I would look forward to spending a portion of my summer
visiting my grandparents home on Sherman Street in Thamesville. Thamesville
is a small town of approximately 1000 residents nestled in amongst
other small Southern Ontario communities such as Bothwell, Dresden,
Kent Bridge and Florence. I can remember as a child, running to the
Thamesville train station upon hearing the sound of an oncoming train,
hoping to catch a rush of adrenalin as it roared past us by only feet.
For those of you who live in such rural towns, perhaps you may not
share the same enthusiasm that I do. Living in Northern Ontario, I'm
accustomed to cold weather, urban sprawl, large city life and car
stereos/alarms throughout the night. Thamesville has always allowed
me to get away from that city life and to see Ontario as it should
be seen.
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Facts:
Population: 928
Author Robertson Davies born here in August of 1913
Threshing Festival held every July
Battle of the Thames took place here on Oct. 5, 1913
A post office was established at Thamesville in 1834. It was incorporated
as a village in 1873. |
There
are straight stretches of highway that go on and on for kilometres, cornfields
lining the roadside, humidity storms lighting up the night, the only sound
during the evening being crickets and of course the beautiful early era homes.
It's
a much simpler life in Thamesville and I've always appreciated the hard work
that the farmers in the area of Kent County perform on a daily basis. The drivers
are not in a hurry to get anywhere nor are they likely to cut you off. People
are friendly in this part of Ontario.
As
I grew into an adult the trips to Thamesville became less and less frequent.
When my grandmother passed away in 2001, I realized that when the time came
that my grandfather eventually passed away, that would end our reason for making
the trip at all. Sadly, that day came on November 1, 2007.
While
I have no doubt that I will visit Thamesville again, no longer will it be to
visit my grandparents, to go for an ice cream with my cousins or to sleep in
my grandparent's house. The house that they once lived in was sold almost a
decade ago and now memories are all that I have.
While
Thamesville is certainly not a ghost town, the beauty of this part of Ontario
merits that I place it into this web page so that you may experience the beauty
as well. Remember, if you visit these locations take nothing but photos, leave
nothing but footprints.
I
arrived in Thamesville at approximately 6:00 AM and proceeded to take some
early morning photos. It began with a beautiful view of a farmer's field
at sunrise. The camera settings were not set properly and I ended up with
a dark orb photo.
Next are two rather eery photos of the stone abutments built in 1874
by stonemasons John and James Tinline. These would be used for a wooden
bridge over the Thames River until an iron bridge would replace it.
Next is a marker for a barn which once stood nearby the bridge, followed
by a cemetery not far from the bridge. The bridge can be found as you travel
from Ridgetown into Thamesville.
The Robert Ferguson home, built in 1885, has always fascinated me for its
beauty and appearance. It can be found just off of Sherman Street heading.
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McKay's
Corners
The day after the funeral I went out in search of abandoned places. I came across
what appeared
to be an old schoolhouse. It stands at the intersection of McKay's Line (a road
on which the former hamlet of McKay's Corners was situated) and Kenesserie Road.
GPS Coordinates: 42.516 / 81.897 (Google
Map)
Ogletree
Cemetery
Along McKay's Line, I happened across the Ogletree Pioneer Cemetery (Google
Map). Some of the markers date back to the 1800's while some of the markers
belong to children (child mortality rates were high during the 1800's). The
59th image is of Samuel Clark's marker which reads that Clark was "killed
by lightning". It is possible that the cemetery originated with the Ogletree
family.
For a view of the entire Howard Township as it once looked, click here.
Botany
Botany's name may very well
have been taken from a pioneer's quote that once appeared in a newspaper:
"This worse than Botany Bay. Once here, work hard, get nothing for it,
here till you die.", the pioneer had said in reference to the Australian penal
colony. The pioneer's sentiments weren't entirely inaccurate; farmers who
arrived in Botany were met with largely forested land which required clearing
before it could be sown and before homes could be built.
Botany once contained a general store, cheese factory, blacksmith shop and
two churches. The churches (Presbyterian and Methodist) each had their own
cemeteries until the early 1960's when they were combined into the United
Cemetery of Botany. The Methodist church was built in 1856 and lasted until
1903 when it was replaced with a brick church.
The community would hold dances that, one resident claimed, "would almost
put life into a dead Scotchman". During the First World War, the local
Women's Institute group knitted 250 pairs of socks to send to Canadian soldiers
overseas.
Children would attend one of the local community schools. In Botany, a school
was built in 1883 which served both Howard and Harwich children. Today the
former school serves as the Botany community centre.
Botany Line Road will take you to the remains of the former hamlet. (Google
Map)
GPS Coordinates: 42.479 / 82.002
Norton
Line
This abandoned
home can be located along the Norton Line road just outside of Thamesville.
(Google
Map)
Around the Town
Thamesville
CN Station
On April of 1999, two railway engineers, Don Blain and Kevin Lihou were
killed when Via Rail 74 derailed in Thamesville. The historic station still
stands but is no longer used for pasengers.
V.G.
Graves Abandoned House
This
property is located in Thamesville and I found it somewhat intriguing if
not creepy. Various animal cages and kennels are scattered about the property.
I found a storage shed and hand operated water-pump (not working). The burned
out remains of an unknown structure sit not far behind the house. The house
is locked up and while the padlock on it appeared to be relatively new,
the contents of the house are quite older. The only access to the house
was through a broken window with makeshift wooden ladder propped against
the wall. A sheet of metal had been secured behind the window thus preventing
entering the home.
Here is video footage
of the area (7 megs). Right click and SAVE to your computer.
Rural Thamesville
Silo
just outside of Thamesville
Historic Tecumseh monument |
 
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For more information on abandoned places nearby Thamesville,
you might want to look at Cashmere, Northwood and Dawn Mills.
