The Hermitage Ruins - Ancaster, ON - Ghosts and Hauntings on Waymarking.com

The Hermitage is part of The Hermitage and Gatehouse Museum just west of Ancaster, Ontario. Built in 1830 the former house and hotel was destroyed in 1934 after a large fire. The walls were recently renovated by the Hamilton Conservation Authority to preserve them

From Wikipedia (visit link)
"Otto Ives (1804-1835) was the third land owner. He was an English officer who had fought in the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire. He met Magdalene Diamanti, a daughter of the Governor of an Aegean island. They married in Corfu in 1824, and had arrived in Ancaster by 1833. They brought her sister or niece with them to act as a companion for Mrs Ives. It was here that Otto Ives purchased the Hermitage from the heirs of the Rev. George Sheed. Ives had hired a coachman by the name of William Black. Although it is said that Black was also a tutor in the English language, evidence exists that this post was filled by Mary Rosebeury (later Mrs Peter Filman of Hamilton).

The ladies of the household spoke only Greek, and it is said that Black fell in love with the sister or niece. Black went to Otto Ives and asked for his niece's hand in marriage. Ives was very upset by the thought, and rejected the proposal. The next morning, Ives and his wife were to go out for the day, but the coachman was not at the front door with the carriage as planned. Ives went out to the barn to see why the coachman had not appeared, and discovered Black's body dangling from the rafters in the barn near the first Hermitage.

Although this story has become legend in Ancaster, and although Otto Ives owned the Hermitage in the 1830s, there is little other information from the time to substantiate the legend of the coachman and the niece's love affair. There is also a note appended to deeds of sale, mentioning that a family friend had hanged himself from a tree in the bush, because of love for the niece."

The area is open to ghost walks throughout the year. (visit link)

Public access?: Parking in the nearby lot has a fee however hiking in is free. Visting hours: Daylight hours unless on a tour. Website about the location and/or story: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:

• Please submit a photo(s) taken by you of your visit to the location (non-copyrighted photos only). GPS photos are also accepted with the location in the background, and old vacation photos are accepted. Photos you took of paranormal activity are great. If you are not able to provide a photo, then please describe your visit or give a story about the visit
• Tell your story if you saw, felt, or smelled anything unusual. Post pictures of what you saw.
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• Be careful and do not enter areas which are off limits or look dangerous. No waymark is worth harm. Use your 6th sense, because sometimes there are unseen things which are telling you to stay out.
• Use care when using your camera flash so you do not disrupt any possible nearby residents. Time lapse can be the best tool on your camera in many circumstances.

 

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Date Logged Log User Rating   09/11/2020 mmsm visited it 01/02/2020 Bon Echo visited it

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