Stop 3: Brudenell

Brudenell wasn't new to us, but I couldn't resist in stopping. I had been here and taken photos twice, the last time being 4 or 5 years ago.

The main remaining feature [that I know of] is the building in most of the photos, below. It was once the Costello Hotel, one of three hotels which once existed. It's a place with a reputation.

Brudenell was on the stage line to nearby Eganville, Rockingham and Combermere, and had plenty of offerings for travellers stopping along the way. Its main industries seem to have been gambling, drinking, and sex - not necessarily in that order.

The arrival of Jim and Mike Costello from Ireland in the early 1870s did absolutely nothing to enhance Brudenell's unsavoury reputation. It was under their watch that Brudenell became known as the most notorious 'sin-bucket' along the Opeongo. (http://www.ghosttownpix.com/ontario/intros/brudenel.html)  

The Opeongo Line was seen as a colonization road, but it didn't work out too well as you might have guessed from seeing the recent photos of the terrain around Newfoundout.

Brudenell's population reached about 200 in the 1880s, and in addition to its three hotels, the community "two blacksmiths, a race track, church, meeting hall and school. It was also thought to have a daily stage service to Eganville, Rockingham and Combermere." (http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/magazine/so05/indepth/soc_brudenell.asp)

When the Canada Atlantic Railway was laid in 1893 to the lumbering camps, it went through Killaloe rather than the Opeongo Line, and that just about sealed the community's fate.

The previous times that we stopped at Brudenell, there was a For Sale sign out front. This time, there was a house trailer parked to the side, and there appeared to be some sign of activity. If anyone plans on restoring the place, they have a major job ahead of them.

Apparently, an abandoned store still stands, and I presume that this building ↓ next to the Costello Hotel is it — judging by the style of the frontage.

The Catholic Church, minus a steeple, is still active. The sign out front proclaimed Saturday morning Masses.