The day was perfect, but exploring the Hermitage Ruins in Ancaster had me whispering through the wrought iron gates, what happened here? You could feel the loneliness of the place, even before learning of it's history, the Ruins are aptly named.
In 1830, at this very spot, there lived a Reverend named George Sheed who built his home here. Unfortunately he never lived to see his dream come true of ministering his own church because he died before it was finished. In 1833, a Greek man named Otto Ives along with his wife and beautiful niece took over the property and moved in. They had hired a coachman named William Black, who fell in love with the niece. Unfortunately Mr. Ives was a man of status and connections, and therefore denied William permission to marry his niece. Back in those days, it was important to maintain a certain status and it was considered unwise to marry someone with no money. As you can imagine, this broke Williams heart. The devastating reality hit him so badly that he had gone to the gatehouse and hung himself. :( The next morning when William was supposed to bring Mr. Ives and the niece to town, the carriage never arrived. Minutes later screams were heard from the coach house where they found Williams cold, body dangling from the rafters.
What makes this story even more heart breaking is that in this era, when someone took their own life, they weren't given a proper burial, because it was considered a sin. So poor William was given a shallow grave at the nearest crossroads of the mansion. It is because of this sad tale, that the area is so popular for paranormal activities. The paranormal society claims that you can hear William crying or seeing him wandering the grounds, sometimes alone or with a woman by his side. Well I don't believe in that sort of thing, but that doesn't mean I don't believe that others do. They have their right to believe this, just as I do to not believe. I just find that his life and the way he died horribly sad.
The mansion had passed a few more hands and in 1855, Mr. George Brown Leith bought and sold 10 acres to his daughter and her husband 10 years later. In 1901, Georges youngest daughter Alma Lauder took over the estate. Alma loved the home so much, she never left it and even after a house party left the house in ruins in 1934, Alma refused to leave the home she loved. She died at 87 years old, and once again Paranormal activists believe her spirit is still roaming the property. The only remains of the estate to this day is the old gatehouse and the ruins of the original home.
Etienne Brule Park is part of the Humber River Trail in Toronto, which is about 32km long. A lot of these trails can be reached by car, bus, subway or even Go Train, so there's really no excuse not to get out and experience them.
The Etienne Brule Park is just north of King's Mill Park, Humber Marshes and South Humber. It runs from Old Mill Road to Lundy Avenue. They've made plenty of improvements based on the Humber River Fisheries Management Plan. The plan is to improve the movement of the fish in the watershed and of course to protect the fish during the early stages of growth as well.
One of the first things you'll notice entering the park lands is the Old Mill Bridge which has been there since 1793 when Toronto's first Industrial building "The king's Mill" was built. It's purpose was to supply the wood for the construction of Fort York. The bridge today isn't exactly the same one, but it was modified in 1916. One further note about the Old Mill (Inn and Spa) and the Bridge is that they are now designated under the Heritage Act. Basically what that means in a nutshell is that historically it is documented, protected and never to be destroyed.
Going even further back to a day of September 19, 1615 when Etienne Brule became the first European to see Lake Ontario, maybe even the first to see Georgian Bay, Lake Michigan, Lake Superior and Lake Huron. He was the first to live among the native people and learn their ways. All this at a ripe of age of 20 years old.
Here's a .pdf file on the Humber River Fisheries Mgmt Plan
