Sam Edgar's Stone Crypt

This stone hut was built in 1884 by Samuel Edgar.

Samuel Edgar was born Jan. 18, 1814 in Boardmills, just outside of Belfast, Ireland. He and his family attended the First Boardmills Church.

Samuel Edgar and his wife Margaret McKee and their family came to North America on November 27, 1860 via the Ship "City of Baltimore". The City of Baltimore went from Liverpool to New York City. So the family had to travel from Belfast, Ireland to Liverpool, England to board the ship and subsequently landed in New York City. I don(a)t know how they travelled after that to the Province of Ontario, Canada. But apparently Samuel Edgar had come before the family to check everything out in Northern Ontario and had built a basic "cottage" out of timbers for his family. He was intrigued by the acres of free land he was given and the abundant hunting potential of the area. Samuel Edgar was a stone mason by trade.

Construction of this structure is completely from local stone, including the roof. The small doorway leads a two foot drop down to the dirt floor, indicating this may have been a cold cellar or other food storage location.. The floor space is roughly 10x10 foot square. The outside walls are about six feet high, with an interior height of about eight feet. The immediate area around the hut has been previously cleared, indicating a small farm and other buildings once occupied this land, however the forest is quickly reclaiming the old farm. All that remains is the sturdily constructed hut, a tribute to his skill as a stone mason. A stone plaque was added to indicate the name of the builder and the year.

Samuel Edgar died in Chandos, Ontario, on Jan. 30, 1887. His wife, Margaret Agnes McKee, died on July 10, 1903, also in Chandos, Ontario.

According to the original poster of this location, Skye_ann wrote:

There used to be a graveyard behind this old crypt with only about 5 or 6 graves, but the forest has taken over and totally destroyed/hidden them. Pretty little spot that someone is obviously keeping up (Front lawn space is mowed). :)