Photos by Barry Wallace
The King City Cemetery Deadhouse (vault building) was built in 1887 by William J. Irwin at a cost of $227.00 It is one of eight remaining octagonal deadhouses and is unique to Ontario.
Old Ontario cemetery 'dead houses", also known as winter vaults or receiving tombs, were unique 19th-century vault structures built to temporarily store coffins and bodies during harsh winters when the ground was too frozen for burial, with octagonal designs being a distinctive Southern Ontario feature, often found in cemeteries like King City Cemetery and the one in nearby Aurora.
These Gothic-style brick structures, designed for dignifies temporary housing of human remains, are rare survivors of a unique historical necessity, with few still surviving today as heritage sites or repurposed equipment sheds.
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