17. The William Doble Home

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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 in the family for several generations. In 1919, William and Margaret’s son Claire Doble moved into his parents’ home with his new bride, May Toker. Claire had recently been elected Reeve of Brock Township, but tragically died during the Spanish influenza epidemic before he could take office. His death was one of many suffered by local families during the devastating epidemic.

The property subsequently passed through the Doble family to Claire’s brother Milton and later to Milton’s son Harold. The family retained the house until about 1978. Harold Doble later built a new home next door around 1983.

The original Doble house preserves a number of features that reveal its age. Hand-forged, square-headed nails dating from the nineteenth century can still be found in its construction. Inside the original front portion of the house are pine doors and trim, along with a pressed-tin ceiling in the living room. Maple hardwood flooring was installed in 1938.

Early photographs show a large veranda extending around the south and east sides of the house. A two-storey addition at the rear was added later and is not part of the original structure.

The property once included a carriage house, barns and woodsheds, reflecting its beginnings as a substantial farm rather than a village residence. These outbuildings were removed in 1978, leaving the original house as an important reminder of both the Doble family and Sunderland’s early rural history.