The Sunderland & District Historical Society
Home of The Sunderland Museum
Rich The Gigantic Hand Saw, Guardian Pharmacy – 103 River St Long before this building became a pharmacy, it was one of Sunderland’s hardware stores. Dean Rundle owned the property by 1905, and the business was later operated by his son, T. A. Rundle, and his wife Vera. By 1924, the Rundles carried a complete line … Read more
Fresh Mart – 97 River St Commercial activity at this location dates back at least to the beginning of the twentieth century. Sunderland’s 1904 fire insurance map shows a hardware store operating in this building. In 1929, Wilford Haney purchased the property immediately west of the Beale Block and established a business selling farm implements … Read more
Stop 4 Variety – 111 River St By the early twentieth century, this building was home to a grocery and bakery operated by Baker Thompson and later by his son, James W. Thompson. Both men were members of the Sunderland Business Club in 1926. A photograph from about 1912 shows the building with a small … Read more
The Harness Shop – 89 River St This house, immediately east of the Beall Block, was once home to the harness shop of Samuel Charter. Charter purchased the property from Mrs. William Doble and operated his harness-making business from a shop at the front of the building. While Samuel worked at his trade during the … Read more
The William Doble Home – 32 Albert St About 1857, William Doble and his wife, Margaret Ruddy, purchased a farm of approximately 90 acres from the Jones family. The family name recalls an even earlier period in the community’s history, when the settlement that became Sunderland was known as Jones’s Corners. The Doble home remained … Read more
Doyle’s General Store – 3 Albert St By 1912, a general store stood on the east side of Albert Street between the McDermott Block and the Presbyterian Church. Fire insurance maps identify it as a concrete building, while historical records associate the property with Timothy Pangman and businesses operated by the Aziz Brothers and W. … Read more
The Sunderland Telephone Company. – 63 River St The Sunderland Telephone Company began operating about 1912, bringing a new form of communication to the village and surrounding countryside. Early photographs showing telephone poles along Sunderland’s streets provide useful clues for dating historic images of the community. In 1912, the telephone office was located here on … Read more
James Doble Home – 3 Cedar St S James Doble was born in 1826 and became one of the Sunderland area’s wealthiest landowners. He was the brother of William Doble, whose family lived at 32 Albert Street, and his landholdings eventually extended to thousands of acres between Sunderland and Victoria Corners. It was once said … Read more
William Nassau Doble Home – 12 River St William Nassau Doble was the son of William Doble and Margaret Ruddy, whose family home stood at 32 Albert Street. With several men named William Doble appearing in Sunderland’s history, he was often distinguished by his middle name and by the nickname “Gypsy Bill,” reportedly inspired by … Read more
Thomas Welsh Home – 27 River St Thomas Welsh Sr. moved to Sunderland in 1880 at the age of 24 and made his home here at the southwest corner of River and Cedar streets. By 1891, he was listed as a grain merchant and became closely associated with Sunderland’s grist mill, where grain from surrounding … Read more