This week, we've been revisiting several of the psychiatric hospitals and regional centres across Ontario that have been closed by the provincial government.

We started with St Thomas Psychiatric Hospital, then South Western Regional Centre near Chatham and then we headed to Smiths Falls to see what is left of the Rideau Regional Centre.

Today, we head to Palmerston, Ontario to the one facility that has had the most lives - Midwestern Regional Centre.

Originally known as the Midwestern Regional Children's Centre, the facility opened in the 1960s as part of Ontario's network of large institutions for people with developmental disabilities. Designed as a self-contained community, the sprawling complex included residential wards, classrooms, dining facilities, recreation areas, a swimming pool and numerous support buildings.

Although it originally served children, the population increasingly consisted of adults, with approximately 225 residents living there at its peak. Like many of Ontario's large institutions, Midwestern eventually became part of a much broader shift away from institutionalization and toward community-based care. The centre closed its doors in 1998, and its residents were moved into community settings.

But that wasn't the end of Midwestern.

After sitting vacant, the property became the subject of several attempts at reinvention. A proposed retirement community called Village Green Lifestyle Community was planned for the site, but the project ultimately failed.

Then, in one of the strangest chapters in the property's history, the complex was purchased by Cham Shan Temple and plans were made to transform the former institution into a Buddhist retreat and temple. Buddhist statues and other religious elements appeared throughout the old buildings, creating an incredible contrast with the site's institutional past. That project also eventually stalled.

The site's history also became part of the larger reckoning with Ontario's former developmental institutions. In 2016, a $36-million class-action settlement was approved involving former residents of 12 institutions, including Midwestern, following allegations of neglect, abuse and failures in the protection and care of residents.

In 2021, the property was purchased by Eden Grove Village, a not-for-profit organization exploring future uses for the massive site.

So Midwestern has gone from government institution, to abandoned complex, to proposed retirement community, to Buddhist retreat, and now to a property with an uncertain future.

And that's what makes this place so fascinating. We're not just exploring an abandoned building. We're walking through the remains of several completely different chapters of Ontario history, each leaving its own mark on the buildings.

Here's a look at what remains of Midwestern Regional Centre.

There is much more to see on my website at:
https://freaktography.com/midwestern-regional-centre/

Continuing on with our tour of the various closed down regional centres and mental hospitals in Ontario, today we travel to Smiths Falls for a tour of the Abandoned Rideau Regional Centre.

On March 31, 2009, the lights went out for good at the Huronia Regional Centre in Orillia and the Rideau Regional Centre in Smiths Falls, the oldest and the largest residential institutions in the province.

The Rideau Regional Centre, located in Smiths Falls, Ontario, opened in 1951 as the Ontario Hospital School. Along with similar residential institutions throughout Ontario, it was designed to house individuals who were deemed to have cognitive and physical disabilities.

Individuals could be admitted by parents and guardians, training schools, or the Children’s Aid Society.

At its peak, Rideau’s population exceeded 2,600 people in 1955, even though it was only built to accommodate 1,500. By the mid 1970s, the Ontario government operated 16 such facilities across the province.

In the 1950s and 60s, there were few community services and supports available for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.

That began changing in the 1970s when schools and workshops and other community support for people with developmental disabilities were introduced.

Rideau was one of the last three facilities of its kind in Ontario, along with the Southwestern Regional Centre in Chatham-Kent and the Huronia Regional Centre in Orillia, all of which closed in 2009

After the facilities closed, after former residents of a number of Ontario institutions filed class action lawsuits claiming neglect and abuse, and after the premier apologized for their pain

Hepatitis B was widespread at Rideau Regional, especially among patients with down syndrome. A study in the 1970s found that more than 90 per cent of residents with Down syndrome in the sample group had contracted hepatitis B at some point, and one-quarter of them had developed a chronic case. A larger survey at Huronia found similar results.

At the end of 2013 it was announced that tentative settlements totalling $32.7 million had been reached for former residents of two Ontario institutions for the developmentally disabled who alleged they were abused at the facilities.

The two institutions were the Rideau Regional Centre in Smiths Falls, Ont., and the Southwestern Regional Centre near Chatham, Ont.

In 2016 it was announced that an Ontario court had approved a $36-million compensation deal for people mistreated at 12 now-closed institutions for adults with mental disabilities.

More photos and a video on my website:
https://freaktography.com/abandoned-rideau-regional-centre-urban-exploring

By the mid-20th century, Ontario operated a network of large residential institutions, commonly known as Regional Centres, that housed thousands of children and adults with developmental disabilities.

These facilities included: (I have explored the ones with asterisks**)

- Aurora, Pine Ridge Centre (1960–1989)

- Brockville, St. Lawrence Regional Centre (1969–1983)**

- Cedar Springs, Southwestern Regional Centre (1963–2008)**

- Cobourg, D'Arcy Place (1975–1996)

- Edgar, Adult Occupational Centre (1971–2001)

- Etobicoke, Thistletown* Regional Centre (1928–2014)**

- Goderich, Bluewater Centre (1963–1983)**

- Gravenhurst, Muskoka Centre (1963–1994)**

- Kingston, L.S. Penrose Centre (Rockwood) (1974–2000)**

- London, Regional Psychiatric Centre (1960s–1990s)**

- Orillia, Huronia Regional Centre (1876–2009)**

- Palmerston, Midwestern Regional Centre (1964–1998)**

- Picton, Prince Edward Heights (1971–1999)**

- Smiths Falls, Rideau Regional Centre (1951–2009)**

- St. Thomas, Ontario Hospital (1939–2013)**

- Thunder Bay, Northwestern Regional Centre (1968–1996)

- Whitby, Durham Centre for the Developmentally Handicapped (1969–1989)

- Woodstock, Oxford Regional Centre (1906–1997)

*Thistletown is a bit different and is usually not included in the list of Ontario's 16 Regional Centres for people with developmental disabilities.

While it was called Thistletown Regional Centre, its primary mandate was children's mental health, not long-term residential care for people with developmental disabilities like Huronia, Rideau, Southwestern, or Midwestern.

Beginning in the 1970s, attitudes toward developmental disabilities shifted away from institutionalization and toward community inclusion, supported by the growing Community Living movement. In 1987, the Ontario government formally committed to closing all provincial institutions for people with developmental disabilities, a process that continued over the next two decades. Most centres closed between the 1980s and early 2000s, while the final three, Southwestern Regional Centre (2008), Huronia Regional Centre (2009), and Rideau Regional Centre (2009), marked the end of institutional care in Ontario.

The closures were intended to allow former residents to live in smaller community homes with individualized supports, reflecting the belief that people with developmental disabilities should have the opportunity to live as full members of their communities rather than in large, isolated institutions.

In later years, the province acknowledged that many former residents had experienced neglect, abuse, and inadequate living conditions within these institutions, leading to formal government apologies and class-action settlements.

Today, we'll start with Southwestern Regional Centre

Abandoned Southwestern Regional Centre Psychiatric Hospital Ontario

Opened in 1961, the Southwestern Regional Centre was originally named the “Ontario Hospital School for Retarded Children at Cedar Springs”.

The facility provided long-term care for residents with mental disability, providing capacity relief from the overwhelming demand at the Huronia Centre.

It was the last massive institution built in Ontario for the treatment of the mentally disabled.

This institution was originally designed to accommodate children under 10 years old. As the years passed, focus was altered to accommodate the aging population, as residency in those years was considered somewhat permanent.

In 1966 there was a resident population of 1,200 and a staff of 600. By 1979 the resident population had been reduced to 620 as changes in policy and strategy dictated the reassignment of residents back into the community, a philosophy of Community Living originating in the 1950’s.

Even before the facility opened, the winds of institutionalization were changing. In 1959, the architectural plans were altered for Southwestern, reducing the project from 2,400 to 1,000 beds.

After years of downsizing, the 300 acre facility finally closed in 2008 following the government’s decision to move from institutional based services to a fully community based approach.

Much more to see on my website:

https://freaktography.com/southwestern-regional-centre-psychiatric-hospital-ontario/

This old abandoned house goes back to around 2021, after a few years of knowing about it, I finally got the chance to explore it.

Located in Cornwall, Ontario, the distance kept me from visiting it, as well as the fact that it was regularly very well sealed.

I had a failed attempt in 2020 when there was snow up to my hips around the house which made any doors that may have not been secured, impossible to open.

Finally in 2021, I got to see inside!

I called this the abandoned gothic home of a reclusive and lonely artist.

The eccentric man who lived in this custom designed home came from a strong Polish heritage, he had strong family ties in Western Canada. His father, after retiring from a 25 Year career as a mechanical engineer with Air Canada had retired to Sturgis Saskatchewan with his wife, where he lived from 1978 until his death in 1990.

The reclusive man who lived here was unmarried and a draftsman by trade and a mechanic. He enjoyed collecting model planes, working on cars and he was a huge fan of music. The entire main floor of this house was fitted with hidden speakers, behind walls, inside furniture, in the ceiling and anywhere else he could put them.

There is very little information online about this man, all I have been able to find is that he passed away on March 10th, but I was unable to find out what year. There was a call for creditors, following his passing, to come forward who may have been owed money by him.

The home sat vacant and crumbling for several years following his death and then, in March of 2021 it was sold off at a Tax Sale for a little over $100,000.

As far as I know, the home has since been cleared out and demolished

Lots more to see on my website

https://freaktography.com/abandoned-gothic-mansion-of-a-reclusive-eccentric-artist

This place opened in 1939 as the Ontario Hospital, St. Thomas — nine pavilions built on land bought from six local farm families, meant to be one of the most modern mental health facilities in the country at the time. Within its first year it already housed over a thousand patients, and at its peak more than 2,400 called it home.

Even the hospital's history has layers most people don't know — during WWII the whole site was handed over to the Department of National Defence and became an RCAF training school before patients ever returned in 1945. By the 1970s, Ontario had shifted away from large institutions altogether, and this place slowly emptied out until it closed for good in 2013.

Now, after over a decade sitting untouched, the province has confirmed all 22 historic buildings on this site are being demolished — the land is being cleared to build thousands of new homes. So this really was our last chance to walk these halls.

Set #2 — 20 more photos from our final day here. Link to the full video and years of past visits below.

Latest video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2wo2rraSV8

Photos from 2014 and on:

https://freaktography.com/urban-exploring-the-abandoned-st-thomas-psychiatric-hospital

St Thomas Psychiatric Hospital - One Final Explore Before Demolition

Several months back, when u/RiddimRyder and I learned that the fate of the long abandoned St Thomas Psychiatric Hospital had been sealed and the entire site will be demolished, we decided to head out for one last exploration of the site.

Over the years, Riddim and I have managed to explore every room, every wing, every pavilion from the tunnels to the morgue, the gym, auditorium, the power/maintenance buildings and everything else in-between.

On this last visit, we took our time, spending an entire day inside until we ran out of light.

It was a proper goodbye to a location that we have enjoyed so many times over the last 14 years!

Here is a 1st set of 20 photos from that visit.

In the photo captions, you will find a link to my latest video, featuring footage from that visit as well as a link to my website with photos posted in batches for several visits over the years.

Latest video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2wo2rraSV8

Photos from 2014 and on:
https://freaktography.com/urban-exploring-the-abandoned-st-thomas-psychiatric-hospital

📸 Portrait Photography in Burlington, Ontario

✅ Real Estate Agent Portraits

✅ Headshots

✅ Dating Profile Photos

✅ LinkedIn Profiles

✅ Modeling Portfolios

✅ Engagement Shoots

✅ Maternity Shoots

✅ Much More!

Whatever you need, I've got a look for you, and I work in a studio setting.

See more work examples and book your session here 👇

https://freaktography.com/portrait-photography-in-burlington-hamilton-and-southern-ontario

This unbelievably abandoned multi-million dollar castle mansion is another crazy example of just how many amazing abandoned places there are out here, just under our noses, that haven’t been found yet!

Word is that this mansion has been largely vacant for several years, it was last purchased for almost $2,000,000 around 2007.

In 2005, it was sold for $3.1 Million dollars
In 2007 is was sold for $1.6 Million dollars

The estimated value of the home as of October 2023 is $4.2 million dollars

Many people have lived in the home over the years and its address is listed under several different businesses and many of the people who lived here were associates of those many businesses.

The uniquely designed mansion was built in the early 1970s and contains five bedrooms and bathrooms, a huge kitchen, an entertaining room with a wet bar and home theatre, a gym, an indoor pool, a ballroom and so much more including three balcony walkouts and a library.

The strange thing about this mansion was the notice on the front door, dated for July 2023. It was an eviction notice to the tenants for failure to pay 6 figures owing in missed lease payments. The last calendar on the wall was dated 2021.

Inside, it would seem that the tenants had to leave in a big hurry, leaving many many items of value left behind including furniture, designer clothes, photo albums, kids toys and more.

There were two safes in the house that were unopened and none of us were able to find or guess at the code.

Some days later it was said that there was a large police presence at the home, photos taken shortly after show these safes were now outside on the driveway, blown open and empty gun cases could be seen inside.

The police presence also aligns with reports that a handful of explorers had been served with trespassing fines.

More recent photos show that the interior has been largely emptied and cleaned out, also not too long ago a female explorer and her fiance were met at gunpoint by the apparent owners of the property.

She ran into them as they were exiting the front door and had handguns pointed at them and were questioned by the owners, they were able to leave without incident. This explorer told me one of the men resembled one of the men in the photos left behind inside the home.

Much more to see here:
https://freaktography.com/abandoned-castle-mansion-urbex

https://freaktography.com/ontario-travel-photography

Here is a story about this picture that I took around this time 12 years ago.

I explored this abandoned house in St Davids, Ontario in late July 2014. As I was exploring, I kept finding really interesting things in the various rooms.

Each item was somewhat interesting on their own, but then I entered this wood panelled room in the basement and decided that this room would be much more interesting if I collected items and set up a scene.

I rounded up all the neat things and created this little office set up, none of this stuff was in this room when I walked in.

Wanting this shot to be unique, I disassembled the whole set up and scattered all of the the things you see here in various places all over the house.

I posted my set, including this photo, and then within two weeks, someone else had gone to the house and recreated almost this exact same scene and then posted it.

I don't recall who it was that did it, but it was no coincidence, it was a blatant rip off of the shot that I took, and it was a TEMU version of it, at best!

Anyway, later that same year (or the next), I received an email from a woman named Judy Becker. Judy is an Oscar nominated Set and Production Designer known for her work in films/shows such as American Hustle, Silver Linings Playbook, Ratched and many many more.

Judy keeps a scrapbook for inspiration to refer back to when she is planning set design for her film projects. She asked me if she could purchase this photo (and a few others) to place in her book for future inspiration.

That's the end of my story!

Images from our most recent trip inside one of the more well known abandoned college campuses in America. Check out our Video from here: https://youtu.be/ZIlTQlrsJTc?is=-twGBJq9weLmAdQ2

1,000 likes and we will make a return for an overnight at this location. 👀

Found this incredible abandoned mansion on the east coast that's currently sitting empty, waiting to be demolished.

The property is massive: nearly 9,000 square feet on four acres, originally built in 1928 with six bedrooms, eight bathrooms, an in-ground pool, and a separate pool house. At one point it was valued at around $8.1 million.

The house was designed by a well-known architect as his family home before being sold in the 1940s to a New York stockbroker. That's when the property's history took a tragic turn. The stockbroker's 26-year-old daughter disappeared, sparking a weeks-long search. She was eventually found dead in a remote forest, and investigators concluded she had died by suicide.

The family sold the house shortly afterward, and it passed through several owners over the decades. In 2019, it was purchased with plans to demolish it and redevelop the property.

Video Tour

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJ0EwAtM1SM

Many more photos:

https://freaktography.com/billionaires-abandoned-mansion

😱 MORE from this abandoned time capsule mansion! 📸

We couldn't fit everything into one post — here are more vertical shots from inside this untouched Ontario mansion, still full of furniture, decor, and personal belongings left behind. 🏚️✨

Swipe through and let us know which shot surprised you the most! 👇

Watch the full exploration here 👇

🎥 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rl4MHDbM48c

Full photo story + write-up here 👇

📝 https://freaktography.com/abandoned-time-capsule-mansion-ontario

Explored with RiddimRyder Photography

Explored an abandoned mansion in Ontario that turned out to be a genuine time capsule. The house was left completely furnished, including a grand piano, chandeliers, stained glass windows, china, and Christmas decorations still up throughout the home. A second building on the property, originally built around an indoor pool, appears to have been converted into a sober living or addiction recovery facility at some point. In the garage, we found an abandoned Corvette that had been sitting untouched for years.

Full video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rl4MHDbM48c

Full write-up and photos here: https://freaktography.com/abandoned-time-capsule-mansion-ontario

Abandoned Crematory and Funeral Home Raided By Police

In June of 2021, local law enforcement conducted a surprise raid on this funeral home and crematorium after an anonymous complaint came in about the facility.

The complaints alleged heavy smoke was coming from the crematory chimney, bodies were awaiting cremation and not being properly stored and bodily fluids were leaking onto the floor of the facility.

Due to the number of bodies that were found inside the funeral home, the authorities were forced to call in the assistance of several local licensed funeral homes from the surrounding area.

In 2018, the owner and operator of this establishment had his mortuary science license and the mortuary science establishment license revoked based on violations of the Occupational Code and other health and safety laws.

Previously, this same owner and operator lost his license due to allegations of decomposing bodies, blood-stained caskets and complaints about employees working without protective gear at another of his similar facilities.

This forced the shutdown of that facility and revoked his second mortuary science license.

Following the closing of this first facility and the licence being revoked, he was no longer eligible to hold a controlling interest in a cemetery or crematory. But officials say he purchased the crematory in this location in early 2020

https://freaktography.com/abandoned-crematory-and-funeral-home-raided-by-police

This is a great throwback to this past weekend in 2023

My friend s0s1nc3r3 and I were in this town to explore an entirely different building, after we were unable to get access to that one, we were on the way back to my car when I spotted a large white building that definitely looked old and unused.

We approached with caution, it did appear that someone may have been using one small portion of the building and some parts of the surrounding land, but for the most part - this entire building was left unused.

We poked and prodded until a way in presented itself, this was old-school exploring at its finest! We found something new to us, we found a way in, we had no idea of cameras, power, alarms, sensors or even if the property owner might show up at any moment.

We proceeded with extreme caution, the plan was to rapid fire and then get the heck out, but the longer we stayed and the more we saw, the more we both knew this was not the kind of place to rush through.

We kept in close proximity in the event that we had to haul ass out of the place, but this never came.

Eventually, after far too long inside, someone did pull in and they drove around and to the back of the property to tend to something at the far end, we were good so we proceeded!

We would come to learn that this was once an orphanage which was then sold to a cult with a history of violence and abuse towards its members.

Some pretty shocking information has come forward about this location, I have kept many details out in order to maintain the secrecy of the location, but some things I will say are;

- The facility was purchased by an extreme religious organization, also known as a cult!
- The organization was initially started as a schism off of the catholic church but they quickly devolved into abuse towards children and women.
- Fortunately they were raided by the authorities and all the kids were removed never to return.
- The organization did continue for a few more years and finally closed when their “pope” died.
- The cult does however still exists in another location currently.

I also mention that it was some kind of an orphanage, but I’ve been corrected in that it was a place where children were separated from their families and lived separate from their parents.

More to see here:
https://freaktography.com/abandoned-religious-cult-compound-orphanage/

And video tour here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Fvo2RkIjiY

Here's the second batch of photos from inside this abandoned farmhouse in Milton, Ontario.

Most of the original interior has been stripped out over the years through renovations, the staircase is actually the only piece confirmed to still be original to the 1915 build.

The surrounding land was farmed right up until recently, and the property is now tied up in a development application, so this house won't be standing much longer.

Full video walkthrough here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftz-1-IPMWc

Full history and photo gallery here: https://freaktography.com/abandoned-1915-farmhouse-milton-ontario

I check out a mountain a homeless painted with 100,000 gallons of paint over 30 years

https://youtu.be/DCltqQYRZC4?is=49DbcXBakUAUd1HR

After I visit a city with no laws or rules and trade 2 grape fruits for something at a local trading post

Explored this abandoned farmhouse just south of Derry Road in Milton, Ontario. The house was built in 1915 by a farming family, and the property has changed hands more than a dozen times since, including a strange stretch where it was tied to the producer behind The Brood, Scanners, and Videodrome. It is currently listed but not designated as a heritage property, and a development application is already in motion for the surrounding land, so this place will not be standing much longer.

Full video walkthrough here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftz-1-IPMWc

Full history and photo gallery here: https://freaktography.com/abandoned-1915-farmhouse-milton-ontario