The Brock House Hotel – 82 River St
This three-story brick building was constructed in 1910 with the supervision and financing of Dr. James McDermott who lived from 1845 to 1920. At that time, the main road through town came right up to the hotel. It was a wonderful place for a meal. But after 1904 it was illegal to serve alcohol in dry Sunderland. This often cut into business.
Some of the owners included Jim Thompson, who also owned the Stop 4 building at River and Church street and Sam Ainsworth. Sam Ainsworth bought the building in 1935 from the township of Brock. George Shier ran the hotel from 1944 until 1965.
In 1966, the government Ontaria bought this hotel and created the Sunnydale Home for Children. This facility cared for up to 77 challenged children and employed as many as 60 staff. Finally, after 23 years, the facility was closed and the residents were moved into group homes. Later the building was renovated and turned into a retirement residence.
The hotel was always a central place in the early years for salesmen and vacationers to visit. In 1945, a special banquet was held here to honor the veterans of both World Wars. In 1840, this building was a log structure owned by the Jones family at that time, Sunderland was known as Jones Corners.
From then until 1910, the building had burned down several times. Fortunately, the wind direction in the Great Fire of 1949 came from the northwest and the flames from the burning McDermott block across the road were carried away from the Brock Hotel. Even so, George Shier stood atop the hotel and used a bucket brigade to kill the embers from igniting the roof. Today the building is known as Victoria Manor, a retirement residence.
2. Saint Andrews United Church – 10 Church St N
3. Sunderland Town Hall – 120 River St
4. Dr. Joseph Henry Oliver Home – 128 River St
5. St. Mary’s Anglican Church – 134 River St
6. Dr. James McDermott Home – 160 River St
7. The Fogg House – 198 River St
8. The Blacksmith Shop – 135 River St
9. The Nipissing House Hotel – 123 River St
10. Stop 4 Variety – 111 River St
11. The Old Drug Store – 108 River St
12. The Gigantic Hand Saw, Guardian Pharmacy – 103 River St
13. Flindell’s Fresh Mart – 97 River St
14. The Beall Block – 93 River St
15. The Harness Shop – 89 River St
16. Taylor’s Store – 85 River St
17. The William Doble Home – 32 Albert St
18. The Sunderland Presbyterian Church – 5 Albert St
19. Doyle’s General Store – 3 Albert St
20. The McDermott Block – 1 Albert Street S
21. The Sunderland Telephone Company. – 63 River St
22. James Doble Home – 3 Cedar St S
23. William Nassau Doble Home – 12 River St
24. Thomas Welsh Home – 20 River St
25. Robert Doble Home – 48 River St
26. The Bank – River Street (CIBC) – 74 River St
27. The Brock House Hotel – 82 River St
28. The Hardware Store – 92 River St
29. The Early Undertaker – 96 River St
30. The Printing Shop – 98 River St
31. The Magic Door – 100 River St
32. The Sunderland Legion – 104 River St
33. 108 River Street – 108 River Street
34. Freeze Creamery – 5 Church St N
35. The Sunderland Memorial Arena 1948-2009 – 20 Park St