Art – Cemetery Photography by Chantal Larochelle

Some places just have a presence.

You can’t help but notice them. The Bell Mansion in Sudbury, Ontario, is one of those places. It’s grand, full of history, and, if the stories are true, maybe even haunted.

Despite its spooky reputation, it’s also been a popular spot for wedding photos, with its striking architecture offering a mix of romance and a touch of haunted charm.

But while the mansion still stands for now, its future is uncertain, and its past lingers in more ways than one.

The Bell Family

William Joseph Bell, better known as Willie Joe, was born in Pembroke, Ontario, in 1858.¹ He started in the lumber industry at just 18, working as a scaler and lumberjack in Quebec.¹ By the time he moved to Northern Ontario in 1896, he had already made a name for himself.¹ He quickly climbed the ranks, becoming Vice-President and General Manager of the Spanish River Lumber Company in 1901.¹ His influence didn’t stop there; he also ran a hardware company and sat on the board of National Grocers Ltd.¹

In 1886, he married Katherine Skead, the daughter of an Ottawa senator, and the couple eventually settled in Sudbury.¹ Beyond business, they were generous community builders. Their greatest gift may be Bell Park, a beautiful green space on Ramsey Lake, which they donated in 1926.² A gift that continues to benefit Sudbury today.

The park remains one of the city’s most beloved gathering spots, offering accessible recreation for people of all ages. Just as Bell Park connects residents with nature, the Bell Mansion connects them with the city’s past, standing as a reminder of the Bells’ influence and Sudbury’s early growth.

The Bell Mansion

Built in 1907, the Bell Mansion, also known as Belrock, is beautiful. Made from local stone in the Arts and Crafts style, the house once sat on 155 acres, stretching from Elizabeth Street down to Ramsey Lake.^3,4That land is now Bell Park, but back then it was all part of the Bell’s massive estate. The mansion itself is a 6,000-square-foot beauty, complete with a coach house, greenhouse, and a separate house for the servants.⁴

On December 3, 1955, disaster struck when a fire gutted the home, leaving little more than stone walls standing.⁵Only one room survived—the conservatory.⁵ The Nickel Lodge Masons bought the property, but their rebuilding plans never came to life.⁵ For more than a decade, the mansion sat empty until the Centennial Committee of the Chamber of Commerce led renovations in 1966.⁵Two years later, ownership was transferred to Laurentian University, which leased the space to the Art Gallery of Sudbury.⁵

For decades, the gallery displayed countless exhibits within the mansion’s walls. But what fascinates people just as much as the art are the ghost stories.

Over the years, people have reported eerie sounds such as rustling skirts, heels clicking across the floor, and even ghostly horses neighing outside.⁶ Many believe Katherine Bell still keeps watch over her home.⁶Staff and security have both described phantom footsteps, loud crashes with nothing disturbed, and objects disappearing only to reappear days later.⁵

The most memorable stories involve a woman’s voice that can be heard eerily singing throughout the house. It’s seems to be loudest in the conservatory, the only room spared by the fire.⁵ Some say Katherine is still rehearsing for one last ghostly concert.⁵

She may not be alone. Visitors claim William Bell also makes his presence known, through heavy footsteps and sightings of a tall figure in a dark suit and top hat, quietly watching over the gallery.⁵

Another mystery once puzzled visitors: the sound of children laughing and playing inside the house, even though the Bells never had children of their own.⁵ The voices eventually faded, but the questions remain. Who were they, and what tied them to the mansion?⁵

In 2024, I visited to photograph the exterior. Though currently closed to the public and sadly in visible disrepair, the mansion still has an undeniable elegance, and definitely still has stories to tell.

Calvin United Church Cemetery

For all their ties to Sudbury, the Bells aren’t buried there.

Instead, they rest in Calvin United Church Cemetery in Pembroke, Ontario, a peaceful spot along Boundary Road East where six cemeteries line the street.

William Joseph Bell died in January 1945 at the age of 87 from complications of a leg injury,and was buried in the family plot.⁵ When Katherine Bell passed away in her home at age 90 in 1954, she was laid to rest beside him.⁷William’s parents and three siblings are also buried in the family plot. Their large pink granite monument is simple and understated. It’s a sharp contrast to the grandeur of the mansion they left behind.

On my way back from Ottawa in 2024, I stopped in to visit their graves. Despite their prominence in Sudbury, I was surprised they weren’t buried there. With the help of reference photos, I eventually found their gravestone and was able to pay my respects.

Today, the fate of the Bell Mansion is uncertain.

In late 2024, Laurentian University announced it would list the property for sale, saying repairs were too costly.⁸The Art Gallery of Sudbury, which had long occupied the mansion, has already relocated as part of Laurentian’s insolvency process.⁸

In response, local advocates launched a petition urging that the grounds remain open to the public and that the heritage designation be respected.⁹ Many argue the mansion is too important a piece of Sudbury’s history to lose.¹⁰ That is one of the reasons I felt it was important to photograph it and share its story.

Whether you believe in ghosts or not, there’s no denying that this house has a past worth remembering.

Thanks for reading!

References:

The History of Bell Rock | Local Color
Appreciating the legacy of Bell Park | Sudbury.com
Bell Mansion provides touch of elegance | Northern Ontario Business
Turning Bell Mansion into a historical teaching tool | Sudbury.com
Haunted Museums & Galleries of Ontario by Andrew Hind | Book
Ten haunted habitations and spooky sites in Greater Sudbury | Sudbury.com
The History of The Bell Mansion | Art Gallery of Sudbury
Historic Bell Mansion in Sudbury, Ont., listed for $1M | CBC
Sale shouldn’t limit access to Bell Mansion grounds, petition states | Sudbury.com
Bell Mansion’s heritage should be protected, local history buffs say | Sudbury.com

One of my favorite things to do on cemetery road trips is visit small local museums. They are often filled with beautiful antique artifacts as well as fascinating stories. Brimming with local history, they often lead me down interesting research rabbit holes. They are great places to learn about interesting local figures to seek out while visiting cemeteries.

For today’s stone story, I want to talk about another Mattawa local that I learned about while visiting the Mattawa Museum, Mattawa’s own Master Painter, Gordon Dufoe.

Gordon Dufoe, working in his art studio. Mattawa Museum Exhibit. Mattawa ON ©2023

The Artist

Gordon Dufoe was born in Mattawa in October 1891. You could say that artistic talent runs in his family. His father would often draw animals to the delight of Gordon and his brothers.¹ Although Dufoe never had any formal art training, he would go on to be known as the “Master Painter of the Ottawa Valley”.²

Dufoe did a tour of duty in Europe, during World War I, where he was sometimes moved from the lines and given orders to sketch the cathedrals, historic buildings, and other locations—to document them in case they were destroyed.³

In 1919, Dufoe returned to Mattawa and married Irene Leclaire. They would go on to have nine children together, seven sons and two daughters. Frank, the oldest of the Dufoe children, inherited his father’s artistic talent. Talent that was also passed down to Frank’s son Gordon, named after his Grandfather.²

Painting by Gordon Dufoe. Mattawa Museum Exhibit, Mattawa ON ©2023

Dufoe eventually set up a home studio and began to paint professionally.¹ His background as a trapper and guide shines through his work, which is largely focused on landscapes and animals. He had a beautiful eye for capturing the essence and movement of his subjects.

The Mattawa Museum exhibit includes a Ricohflex – Model VI camera that was used by Dufoe. An avid photographer, he would often take photos that he would reference when creating his paintings. He also dabbled in building his own cameras, as well as building radios and telescopes.²

His paintings can be found in North America, and around the world.¹ Today, a painting can sell for more than Dufoe made in his lifetime as a living painter. He was known to give his paintings away or even throw them away if he was not happy with them.² After his death in 1975, many of his works were donated to the Mattawa Museum², and are on display for all to see.

In 1993, Dufoe’s family worked with Douglas Pollard at the Highway Book Shop to posthumously publish a book Dufoe had written. Canadian Animals I Have Known by Gordon Dufoe is a collection of stories from Dufoes life in the bush and contains many of his animal sketches.² Today, the book is now out of print.

Visiting the Cemetery

After visiting the museum, my mother and I made our way to the cemetery to pay our respects.

Dufoe passed away on March 3, 1975, at the age of 83. He is laid to rest in Saint Annes Cemetery beside his wife, Irene who passed away in May of 1977. Beside a large grey granite tombstone for both Gordon and his wife, stands a Canadian military grave marker, in honor of Dufoe’s military service.

It reads: “ Gordon E. Dufoe / Private / 130 Battn. C E F / 3 March 1975 / Aged 83”

The Dufoe family plot is also the final resting place of Albert and Norman Dufoe, and Stella Dufoe Brunette, children of Gordon and Irene.

It took my mother and I some time to find Dufoe’s plot as the cemetery is quite large. Saint Annes Cemetery, also known as Saint Annes Catholic Cemetery was established in 1883 and has approximately 2,246 memorials according to Find a Grave. The cemetery has not been fully photographed yet, and it is still an active cemetery.

If we had not visited the Mattawa Museum before visiting the cemetery, we would not have known that this simple grey marker was the final resting place of one of Mattawa’s finest painters.

The Museum and cemetery are not the only places in Mattawa where you can find a memorial to Dufoe. There is a park that sits between 10^th and 11^th streets that was dedicated to the local painter many years ago.¹ In 2016, a new sign and a memorial bench that lists the names of all of his children was installed.⁴

The inscription on the memorial park sign reads:

“Gordon Dufoe (1891-1975) an outstanding artist, craftsman, outdoorsman, soldier, family man, and friend is hereby remembered for the beauty and pleasure he brought to many and for his contributions as an exemplary citizen.”¹

Thanks for reading!

References:

Gordon Dufoe | Mattawa Museum
Mattawa’s ‘Renaissance Man’ Remembered | Past Forward Heritage Limited
Mattawa Park bench and sign honours artist | Bay Today
Park bench will honour local painter | Bay Today

Cemetery Photography by Chantal Larochelle

Tag: Art

October Stone Stories: The Haunting of Bell Mansion