Boston Mills takes its name from a small village which used to exist between Cheltenham and Inglewood. Very little is known about the cottages other than some sixteen or so cottages were built, nestled adjacent to each other between the Credit River and Chinguacousy Road sometime in the 1960's or 1970's.
Today, only five of the former cottages exist (now residential homes), with the remaining cottages either demolished or in an advanced state of structural decay. Of the remaining cottages, less than a handful is safe enough to be explored.What is interesting about these particular abandonments is of course the fact that they are adjacent to each other which hints of some collective organisation. Perhaps this was a retreat at one time or simply just a group of rental cottages. Another point of interest at this location is the unusual number of personal effects left behind within the structures. Some rooms contained furniture, kitchen cabinets were full, and even a typewriter was present. (I've included a wiki-link for those n00bs who have no freak'n idea what a typewriter is)
From all the graffiti and paint-ball hits on the walls, the buildings have seen a level of activity but it appears that the visitors were kind enough not to smash everything and left all the personal debris in place. I did notice however that this fine bottle of vermouth was drained dry . . . those Hooligans !It is obvious that the fella who occupied this room (below-left) was a HUGE Rolling Stones fan. Did you know that John Pasche designed the iconic 'tongue and lip' design in 1971 for the Stones. In other news . . . Scientists are harvesting stem-cells from Keith Richards in search of cure for mortality.
It has a very long time since I've seen such beautiful retrolicious furniture like this. The handy cabinetry built into the end of this sofa hid your Dad's booze and skin mags out of site from your mother.To get some more retro-kicking furniture try these links - link#1, link#2, or link#3.
These images here remind me Ernest Hemingway's place down in Key West . . . just the way he may have left it in 1961 (from the look of the furniture). I could almost see an inibreated Ernest chasing after some polydactyl pussy.
Discarded out in the yard is an old public address system. From the label on the unit, it was obvious it was from a school (library, principal, etc.). It's a rare day that I come across a turn-table, even more rare when said turn-table is incorporated into a vintage piece'o'junk like this.
There is not much left of these cottages. I could suggest that you check these gems out if you happen to be in the area, but you could very well drop through the rotten floorboards, sue me and then I would not have a car to live in . . . so - just enjoy the UrbEx goodness provided for you here.
A quick bit'o'history about Boston Mills (no - not the publisher in nearby Erin)
From the Caledon Heritage Committee
BOSTON MILLS (NON-EXISTENT TODAY)32 Sideroad and 2nd Line West
Early names for this village, which backs onto the Credit River, north of Ferndale, include The Credit, Boston and Caslor’s Corners, after Hiram Caslor, who owned the sawmill and carding mill in the early 1850’s. Name does not appear on the Tremaine’s 1859 map and is shown as Boston on 1877 historical atlas. In 1860, in a witty jest, Caslor painted across the front of the mill the name “Boston Mills” and so it remained. The first school was built in 1830. It burned down in 1893 but was soon replaced. It was the last one room school house in Peel County and in 1964 it became the Boston Mills cemetery mortuary. When the Hamilton and Northwestern Railway arrived in 1870, the hamlet was thriving. A bakery and blacksmith shop was flourishing and so was the hotel. Once Inglewood became the major business center, Boston Mills started to diminish. Fire levelled the mill in 1910.
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