Ontario Abandoned Places will be rebranded as Ominous Abandoned Places

Whitchurch-Stouffville area

Demolished House in Whitchurch-Stouffville, Ontario, Canada

Apr 26 2011

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Recent status Demolished
Location # 2645

I saw this house in one of the other galleries under Newmarket, but the address wasn(a)t correct, and there was also pictures of a house around the corner from this one..So I thought it would be okay to make a separate entry.

I suppose this home is technically in Whitchurch-Stouffville, but its right outside of Newmarket.

Anyway! A friend and I decided to go out and take some photos and I suggested we check this place out. I had originally gone to this house at night but it was kind of creepy in the dark so I left. We got into the house by a broken window. Unfortunately we didn(a)t bring a flash light, which sucked because there seemed to be so much to explore here! There were stairs leading up to a top floor, and many different rooms. Nothing too exciting downstairs.. it was still interesting, but no left behind furniture or anything. I'm wondering whats upstairs though. Doesn't seem really vandalized, just a lot of junk on the floor like doors and wood.

Sillux writes:
Known as the Widdifield House or the old Maple Grove Farm, this house was built by Henry Widdifield Jr, one of the areas earliest and most prominent pioneering families. Henry was born in 1779 in New Jersey, came to Upper Canada around 1800, and by 1812 he had built a house on his original land grant.

This farm was passed down the family and eventually was to be the birthplace of four generations of the Widdifields. Many of the Widdifields went on to become very prominent members of the Newmarket community and could be considered one of the founding families of the area. The Widdifield section of the Newmarket cemetery is quite large, and Widdifield Dr. in the towns south end is named for the family.

Some members of the family include...

  • Joseph Henry Widdifield (Grandson of Henry Widdifield Jr.), was a practising doctor in Newmarket, served as a MPP, and was well known as the Sheriff of York County for some years.
  • James Edward Widdifield, brother to Joseph, was appointed the Postmaster of Newmarket in 1908.
  • Elma Widdifield, sister to Joseph, married Walter Playter, an accomplished businessman in Newmarket whom owned a store on the corner of Main and Botsford St`s.
  • William C. Widdifield, a very, very prominent solicitor in Newmarket for nearly 20 years. You would be lucky to pick up a newspaper from his era and not find his name mentioned - he had his hand in everything in town. He married Emma Cane, a daughter of the well-known local businessman William Cane.

As for the urbex, there was no POE when I was visiting and it's extremely close to a relatively-major road, so I didn't want to hang around longer than I should. The house is in a pretty dilapitated state from the looks of the outside, but man is she ever a beaut!

Comments

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7 years ago

This house was torn down the other day. There's a news article on it that summarises some more of it's history. www.yorkregion.com/news-story/7033864-ontario-s-4th-oldest-brick-house-demolished-after-being-ruled-unsafe/ Anyone have any better pictures of the interior?

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13 years ago

Nice photos, wherever it is.