Urban Exploration

There is more to urban exploration than taking a walk in the city.

There are 406 posts filed in Urban Exploration (this is page 6 of 41).

A Haunted Tunnel in Ontario? 

            I haven't seen this tunnel myself and I'm skeptical about anything being haunted. Still, having a history like this isn't going to leave a place unmarked, or unremarked upon. Any old train tunnel is going to be dark and too many are unused these days. Not all of them have children crushed by rocks and trains colliding into each other. Probably most of them have injuries (maybe even deaths) in the area during their original construction. Either way, exploring a dark, unused tunnel, is going to feel a little creepy. Bring a flashlight and something to scare away animals.

This is from a post which was on TripSavvy. The link is broken and the post isn’t on the site now.

The Blue Ghost Tunnel has garnered a cult following due to its terrifying reputation making it one of the most haunted places to visit around Niagara Falls. Built in 1876, the railroad was designed to connect Thorold to Merritton but it was only used for a little over 35 years. Hundreds of men poured their blood, sweat, and tears into the construction of the tunnel and in the process, there were a number of deathly accidents.

Just a year before the construction wrapped up a 14-year-old boy was crushed to death by a boulder. In 1903, two trains collided resulting in the death of both conductors. In total, 107 men died during the construction of both the tunnel and canal in the area.

It’s said that the tunnel isn’t haunted by just one ghost but that a host of paranormal activity takes place there. The tunnel got its name from the regular spotting of a blue mist in photographs taken by thrill seekers. It’s also said that a ghost dog patrols the entrance to the tunnel. If you’re looking for a thrill this Halloween season, it’s only a short drive to the next attraction.

Alex Omanski Posts About the History of Underground Ontario – Mines and Caves 

            First, I found his site, <a href="http://www.ontarioexplorations101.com/">Ontario Exploration 101</a>, via the Curlie listing which had come up as a broken link to check. The link works, if you go past the web browser warnings of gloom and doom. People may miss all his posts because they start from the navigation bar, under the word "more...". Not the navigation people are used to. At first the site appears to be a one page wonder. Once you hit upon the content, there is a LOT of it. Mostly about abandoned mines in Ontario.

I found more. There is a gallery of his images and more written content at mindat.org. There is a network people can join, a Mining Database.

I don’t know why the web browser (Firefox) is warning people away from his site. It would take days to read everything there. I hope it is all saved somewhere. Sites, personal projects like this, tend to disappear one day without notice. Abandoned and then lost.

A Project to Document Ghost Signs in London, UK 

            <img class="size-full wp-image-59935 alignleft" src="https://strangeontario.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/ghostsignsuk.png" alt="" width="427" height="567" />Sam Roberts (<a href="https://www.ghostsigns.co.uk/">Ghostsigns</a> UK) and Roy Reed are looking for funding to complete their project, <span class="removed_link" title="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/isolapress/ghost-signs-a-london-story/">documenting London, England's ghost signs</span>. For a pledge of $77 Canadian you can get a copy of the book sent to you. They expect to have it ready to mail out by Christmas this year, 2021.  You can also just donate to sponsor the project.

Art & Home Reposted the Old House from Bradford 

            <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-56414" src="https://ontarioexploration.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/foundonartandhomenet.png" alt="" width="382" height="442" />One of my photos was included in an article about abandoned houses, on a site called <a href="https://artandhome.net/abandoned-homes/">Art &amp; Home</a>.

They added it from Pinterest, known for being a great source of photographs (I’m joking). So there is no attribute or link to me.

It bugs me that I don’t seem to have my original image file for this photo (and most of the others from this house) any more. Every image I have is shrunken, smaller than my original. I shrunk them for posting online and maybe the big originals were lost somewhere along the way. I keep hoping I will turn them up.

As far as the Pinterest thing, what can you do? There’s a lot of theft online, intentional and unintentional. Easier to just post the image than backtrack it to the source. Even if you find a source, how can you know it is the right source. Things are pretty messed up. This is why I am working on watermarking images before I post any more of them. Where ever they wander, at least there will be something to show where they came from. In theory.

Want to find this house? You won’t. It was demolished years ago. Bradford, Ontario.

Bruce Brigham Abandoned Ontario Books 

            I remember the original website, which you can still see (the front page and not much else) with the Wayback Machine. I could not find an update about Bruce Brigham and both of his web domains abandonedontario.ca and abandonedontario.com are parked/ 404 now. Not a good sign. I exchanged an email with him, once, long ago.

I did find one of his photos posted to Pinterest.  There is also a surviving link for a few pages and photographs on Tumblr. No new posts. I found another lost link which had posts about his books, pinball machines and working with Mac computers. But that domain was sold and is being using by another business now. I also found a pinball video, about collecting and maintaining the old pinball games.

There are also two books, which are very hard (which probably means expensive too) to find. Both are listed on Amazon but not available. I found a photo of the second book via ebay.

Kevin McElheran’s Abandoned Church Photo 

            I tried to find the photographer, Kevin McElheran online. No luck, just more abandoned or broken links. I did find a description which was posted with another copy of the same photo, on two other sites. So, some background information about how the photo was taken. But, I still don't know what happened to <a href="https://twitter.com/kmcelheran">Kevin McElheran</a> from Calgary, Alberta.

“This abandoned 100 year old church is what’s left from what was the rail town of Sorrento, British Columbia. I was driving through this area late one night when I noticed a train in the distance approaching which outlined this structure in it’s glow.”

I think the church is Notch Hill Church, not Saint Mary’s as the description says with the photo above. Notch Hill Church is in Sorrento, BC and it is located right at the train tracks. One sites says it is Tappen, BC.

One way or another, this seems to the the church photographed. It was being restored but the site stopped posting in 2014. In 2016 I read a report about building materials being stolen from the site. The project is on hold due to lack of funds to replace them. The photo below was taken before the renovations began.

DanOCan – STST2017: Notch Hill Church

Toronto Fire 1904 Postcard 

            I have heard about the fire in old Toronto. So long ago (before I was born) that I forget the year. But, <span class="removed_link" title="https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/919333738/toronto-fire-photo-postcard-1904-1905?frs=1&amp;cns=1">this postcard</span> says it was 1904, and this is where the fire started. None of those old buildings will still be standing. The others which survived in 1904 are mostly gone too. The don't make them like that any more, is certainly true. They were brick and beautiful, crafted. Now they seem utilitarian, plain and functional. Not fair to say they have no style, a different style is still a style. But, they lack the feeling that someone actually built them. Instead they seem to be something that just appeared, already formed.

You can read more about the fire and the history, but you can’t ever see it, just images and news reporting. The old grandmother buildings are gone. That always seems sad to me.

Did you Know About Milk Tokens? 

            Found at an <span class="removed_link" title="https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/945429576/vintage-kemptville-dairy-milk-token-good?organic_search_click=1&amp;frs=1">Etsy shop</span> with this information:

From the late 19th century through the 1960s and 1970s, dairy distributors of Canada issued tokens as monetary substitutes for convenient home delivery. They also served as advertising.

Kemptville, I think, is now part of Barrie, Ontario. So a bit more local history for Ontario. I didn’t know there were tokens like this. But, I do remember milk still being delivered when I was a kid living in what is now the eastern edge of Scarborough, Ontario. It used to be Port Union, but not known by the name of the original town any more.

Steve Skafte – Poet and Explorer of Roads, Cemeteries and Old Places in Nova Scotia 

            I found <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7mZ8WAc6OAur81L0Ml7gdg">Steve Skafte</a> (YouTube video posts) today from a post on the CBC site. He was interviewed about his photographs and research of abandoned roads in Nova Scotia.

When he was a kid, his bedroom walls were covered in maps. He was fascinated with exploring Nova Scotia, so once he travelled all the roads he could track down in his community, his attention shifted to the roads that weren’t clearly marked.

The province categorizes these roads as K-class, meaning the roadways are owned by the province but not maintained and rarely used by the public. Skafte thinks most of the roads, which range from a few hundred metres to about five kilometres in length, haven’t been kept up for 50 to 60 years.

Before going out to explore, Skafte carefully studies property lines online to see where the abandoned roads may be. He then puts on a pair of hiking boots, grabs his camera and heads out.

Quoted from CBC – Meet the man mapping out Nova Scotia’s abandoned roads.

His books of poetry, photographs and history are available at his Etsy shop, Photofables. The books and calendars about exploring the old roads and places seem to sell out quickly.

Visit the groups he runs on Facebook:
Abandoned Nova Scotia
Abandoned Roads of Nova Scotia

Poetry with photographs.