DONNELLY Photo Album
The following photographs were taken during my many visits to
the Donnelly Homestead and St. Patrick's Church & Cemetery.
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The
Donnelly Tombstone
The
Donnelly Tombstone
The Donnelly Tombstone Situated at the back of St.Patrick's Cemetery, visitors will find the Donnelly Tombstone. The more famous tombstone with the words "MURDERED" carved beneath each victim's names stood on this spot for 75 years. Erected in 1889 by William Donnelly, the original tombstone attracted thousands of visitors.
It is said that this publicity, coupled with the damage to church property by overzealous tourists, forced the parish priest to have the stone removed in 1964. The new tombstone was erected by the remaining members of the family with the omission of the offending word that had created so much attention. View the original Donnelly tombstone here!Photo taken: Summer 1996 The Donnelly Tombstone Back View Today, tourists still flock to the Roman Line in search of the famous Donnelly tombstone. Many of them still leave their mark by chipping out little souvenirs of stone for themselves just as their predecessors did with the original tombstone. The unfortunate thing about this, however, is the fact that this is a violation to a site that might be designated as a historic attraction someday. And, this defacement will eventually make the words on the headstone indecipherable to future tourists. Photo taken: Summer 1997 Making A Wish on the Donnelly Tombstone
St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church
St. Patrick's Church & CemeteryIf the walls of St.Patrick's Church could talk, imagine what tales it would tell. You would hear stories of murder, mayhem and madness, whispers of gossip, wails of woes, and cries of joy. But the church remains silent leaving us to the mercy of our imaginations and romantic ideas of the way it was.Built in 1859, St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church was attended by the Donnellys including many of their friends and enemies who now lie buried in the little cemetery on the right that was consecrated in 1850.
St. Patrick's Church
Close-up viewThe land surrounding the church was was originally purchased by James Kelly in 1848 who donated five acres of the property for church use. Two years later, a frame church was built on the site, but it eventually proved to be too small to accommodate the large flock of worshippers who filled the church to capacity. A new brick structure was built to rectify the situation, and today, St. Patrick's still serves the Roman Catholic parishioners of Biddulph and the surrounding area.
Photo taken: Summer 1997
Lightning Strikes The ChurchDuring the 1980s, the historic church had a facelift which included the addition of a new chapel on its westerly side. More renovations followed in 1991 with much of the architecture and woodwork being restored to its original beauty.
On April 13, 1996, the church was struck by lightning during a vicious thunderstorm, and as this photo shows, the steeple was burned beyond saving.
Photo taken: 1996
St. Patrick's Church With Its New SteepleThe Donnelly tombstone is situated on the right of this photo. On any given day, no matter what the weather, there is always someone paying a visit to the Donnelly gravesite. And it's no wonder . . . the charming cemetery is a tranquil, beautiful place to wander through at any time of the year, and with the Donnellys playing host as the main attraction, that makes St. Patrick's Cemetery an even more fascinating place to visit.
Photo taken: Summer 1997
The Roman Line
The Roman Line
Looking Towards St. Patrick's ChurchIn this photo, one can imagine riding down the Roman Line in a horse and buggy back in the 1880s. This is what it must have looked like to the Donnellys while on their way to church every Sunday. Note St. Patrick's steeple rising majestically on the horizon. You can almost hear its melodic bell beckoning all to come to Sunday service.
Photo taken: Summer 1996 
The Roman Line
Looking Towards The Donnelly HomesteadThe Roman Line was named after all the Irish Roman Catholic pioneers who came to Canada West to carve a new existence out of Biddulph's rugged wilderness. Traveling down it today, one cannot help but wonder what it was like in the Donnelly's time for much has changed since the 1880 massacre.Farms have come and gone, as have many of the families that once thrived along the country road. The Donnelly Homestead remains, however, and can be viewed by appointment in a 90-minute tour that takes visitors on a trip to the past where the Roman Line once echoed with the thunder of horse hooves, and the sound of carriage wheels along the dusty, country road.
The Donnelly Homestead
The Donnelly HomesteadThe first time tourists visit the Donnelly Homestead, many expect to see the burned-out shell of the original Donnelly house, but sadly, it was destroyed the night of the massacre, February 4, 1880. Nothing remains of the house but the foundation stones that supported it. The present-day house on the property dates back to 1881 and was built by William Donnelly. The original Donnelly house stood to the right of the current structure.
Photo taken: July 2000 
The House That Will BuiltThis quaint house is the home of Robert Salts and his family, the current owners of the Donnelly Homestead who purchased the property in 1988. The middle section of the house is the original structure built by William Donnelly in 1881. The front and back additions were built around 1971.Many eerie and unexplained incidents have taken place in the original section of the house from things going missing to actual sightings of ghosts. See Donnelly Ghost Page for more details.
Photo taken: Summer 1997
The Donnelly Homestead
Back ViewThis photo was taken from the barn looking toward the Roman Line. The original Donnelly house stood in the grove of trees on the left, about 12 to 15 feet from the present-day house. It's easy to imagine Johannah Donnelly tending a vegetable garden much like the Salts' garden on the left. The Donnelly family may have had a garden in the same spot . . . if so, it would have been situated right outside their kitchen door.
Photo taken: Summer 1997
The Donnelly Barn
The Donnelly BarnThe Donnelly barn was built in 1877 by the Donnellys replacing an earlier structure that had burned to the ground that same year. The building was raised on a cement foundation by Robert Donnelly sometime around 1906. Robert Salts says that many of the boards are original with hand-made square nails keeping them in place.
Photo taken: July 2000
The "Haunted" Donnelly Barn?
Interior ViewMany tourist have felt the presence of spirits inside the Donnelly barn. Some have experienced pressure applied to their chests, while others have reported being tapped on the shoulder, only to turn around and find no one there. Other tourists have had the eerie sensation of being watched by someone. See Donnelly Ghost Page for more details.
Photo taken: July 2000
Robert Salts
Donnelly Homestead OwnerRobert Salts has lived on the Donnelly property with his wife, Linda, and son, Charles, since 1988. A retired school teacher who taught public school for 25 years, Mr. Salts is a professional trance clairvoyant who has seen, and felt, the presence of spirits in the Donnelly barn on many occasions.
Photo taken: July 2000
The Original Donnelly Site
Scene of the CrimeRobert Salts is showing the exact location where Johannah Donnelly's body was found. He is kneeling in what would have been the doorway passage between the front living room and the kitchen of the original Donnelly home.Behind him, and to his left . . . (left of the large fieldstone) is where young Bridget Donnelly's body was discovered, and to her left was James Donnelly's corpse. Tom Donnelly died in the living room, not seen in this photograph.
Photo taken: Summer 1997
Site of the Original Donnelly HomeThese two fieldstones, put in position in 1870, supported the Donnelly's log house that consisted of a living room and two bedrooms. These particular rocks held up the left side of the house, while the rocks in the photo below held up the right side.
At the back, and out of view, are two more fieldstones that were laid in 1871 to support a large kitchen and a small bedroom that were added at that time to the back of the home. The front door where Tom Donnelly ran out in his stocking feet, would have been a few feet to the right of this tree.
Photo taken: Summer 1997 
Trees Planted in MemoryThe two trees in both of these fieldstone photos were planted by William Donnelly. Originally, he planted five horse-chestnut trees, one for each member of his slain family, but only the two shown in these photos have survived. They remain as a touching sentiment from a devoted son, brother, and cousin.Photo taken: July 1997
Donnelly OuthouseNo collection of Donnelly photos would be completed without this picture of the Donnelly Outhouse. Robert Salts planted a tree on this spot, and he says with a chuckle, "It really took off!" Not surprising, considering the "rich" soil.
The outhouse was located on the left side of the Donnelly home, and was reached by going out the side door off of the kitchen.
Photo taken: Summer 1997
Donnelly Homestead Tour
Donnelly Homestead TourRobert Salts has a captive audience as he depicts the story of the Donnelly massacre. He is standing on the threshold of the original Donnelly home which adds an eerie atmosphere to his grisly tale of murder and mayhem.
Photo taken: July 2000
A Trip Down Memory LaneOn this part of the Donnelly Homestead tour, Robert Salts shows fascinated tourists photographs of the Donnelly family.
Photo taken: July 2000
A Spooky Tour of the Donnelly BarnRobert Salts gives mesmerized tourists a tour of the Donnelly barn. It is here that he has felt the presence of spirits on many occasions. Tourists have also mentioned eerie experiences with the unexplained while visiting the barn.
Photo taken: July 2000
Miscellaneous Donnelly Related Photos
Cedar Swamp SchoolhouseThe Cedar Swamp Schoolhouse, sometimes called the "Swamp", was constructed in 1874 on Highway 23 at Middlesex County Road 47. This is the place where the Biddulph Peace Society met secretly to plot the downfall of their enemies which included the Donnellys.A log schoolhouse stood on this spot before the present brick building that stands empty now, save for some farmer's junk. Although the front vestibule is missing, the architecturally sound structure is a good example of the many one-room schoolhouse that dotted Ontario's countryside. Inside, evidence of the blackboard is still present on the back wall, as is the small anteroom where the vigilantes met.
Photo taken: Summer 1996
The Middlesex County Courthouse
London, OntarioThis beautiful courthouse, built in 1829-31, is a miniature replica of Malahide Castle near Dublin, Ireland. Col. Thomas Talbot, one of London, Ontario's founders, had the building designed after his ancestral home that has been occupied for 791 years.
Several convicts, including a one-legged murderer and a woman, were hanged and then buried on the courthouse's property. But the most famous event was perhaps the Donnelly murder trial that took place here. The first trial resulted in a hung jury; the second, in an acquittal. No one paid for that tragic night in Canadian history
Photo taken: Fall 2001
Pat Donnelly's GravestonePatrick Donnelly was born April 15, 1849 and died May 18, 1914. He is buried in Lakeview Cemetery in Thorold, Ontario.
Special thanks to Alan Cheynowski for taking this photo and sharing it with us.
Photography by Webmaster unless otherwise specified.
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