The Early Undertaker – 96 River St
The earliest undertaker in the area was G. A. Leach in the Atlas of 1877 for the county of Ontario. Most undertakers also had a business making and selling furniture. In the early days, the family held the funeral service at the home of a relative and then went directly to the cemetery. Up until 1915, the building that is now Sunderland Homeland Furniture was run by Robert Charter. He had a furniture business and was also the undertaker.
In 1906 he provided the seats for the new Sunderland Town Hall. These seats were unique and had a spot at the base of the chair for the gentlemen to store their hats during a performance at the hall.
After 1915, Lorne Pinkham owned this business. Part of the main floor was the funeral parlor, and the other parts were used as living quarters for his family and for the display of furniture. At the back of the store was a stable large enough to hold two milking cows. Lorne wished to keep his links to farm life and rented some land south of Sunderland. This property was later known as Piggyland in the scam that happened in 1960, Ralph Pinkham carried on the business from about 1943 to 1969. About January of 1969, John Thorne came to Sunderland to run this business and in 1973 it became Thorn Thorne Memorial Chapel. The original funeral parlor was moved to the west at Thorne, and the Pinkham building became part of the home hardware business owned by the Pilgrim family.
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