The Keyhole House

Directions Website

The Keyhole House Two magicians move into an abandoned Victorian home and unlock its secrets—expect history, mystery, and a grateful ghost.
(1)

10/17/2026

Agnes has found her spotlight!

Pat at Bowie’s has conjured up Essence of Agnes—a whiskey-based cocktail featuring Tears of Agnes blueberry hot sauce.

Naturally, I had to investigate.

My verdict? Hauntingly divine!

A big shout-out to Uncle Awful for creating this delicious hot sauce in honour of our resident Keyhole House ghost.

Try Essence of Agnes at Bowie’s in Smiths Falls while spooky season lasts!

10/11/2026

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving! Smiths Falls has some extraordinary turkey history—and it starts with a plague of grasshoppers.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving, friends! Smiths Falls has some extraordinary turkey history—and it starts with a plague of ...
10/11/2026

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving, friends! Smiths Falls has some extraordinary turkey history—and it starts with a plague of grasshoppers.

In the early 1880s, enormous grasshoppers descended on the town and began devouring crops. Residents responded by raising extra turkeys, which happily feasted on the invading insects.

The result? An abundance of fat turkeys!

What had begun in the early 1860s as the Smiths Falls Poultry Fair grew to epic proportions. Organizers proclaimed it “the original and largest poultry market in the dominion!”

With the Keyhole House right here in Smiths Falls, its former residents would have had little trouble finding a turkey for their Thanksgiving table. We like to imagine the aromas drifting from the kitchen as they prepared their feast.

Read the full story, “When Turkeys Took Over Town,” on our Substack at https://thekeyholehouse.substack.com/p/when-turkeys-took-over-town?r=53h313&utm_medium=ios

Can a flower say what we dare not speak?The Victorians embraced floriography—the language of flowers. A carefully chosen...
10/10/2026

Can a flower say what we dare not speak?

The Victorians embraced floriography—the language of flowers. A carefully chosen bloom could convey affection, friendship, longing, or even rejection. Different varieties, scents, and colours carried different messages.

One period flower dictionary assigned “rose or pink” geraniums the meaning “preference”—a floral way of saying, “You are my favourite.”

We’ve brought our geraniums inside for the winter, and this brilliant pink delight is now living in the front bedroom we are restoring—a room we believe once belonged to Alexander Wood Lamb, Agnes’s son.

A visitor recently confided that they sensed Alexander was still here at the Keyhole House. If that is true, we look forward to his response to this small gesture of affection.

A little summer has moved in. We’ve brought our geraniums inside for the winter, and this pale pink beauty seems very ha...
10/07/2026

A little summer has moved in.

We’ve brought our geraniums inside for the winter, and this pale pink beauty seems very happy in a rusty old urn.

Geraniums were favourites in Victorian homes, bringing colour to windowsills long before the Keyhole House was built in 1892.

I wonder whether Agnes Lamb, who lived here at the turn of the century, once kept one in this very room.

10/06/2026

The Briggs family lived at the Keyhole House from 1930 to 1938—and nearly 90 years later, we’re still discovering pieces of their everyday lives hidden throughout the house.

A newspaper marked BRIGGS wedged beneath the floorboards. A magazine and letter preserved in a time capsule hidden by 12-year-old Barbara. Christmas cards and a photograph of her father, John, concealed behind the fireplace mantel.

None of these things were extraordinary when the Briggs family lived here. They were simply part of family life.

Today, they allow us to reach across almost a century and get to know the people who once called this house home.

Sometimes it feels as though the Keyhole House simply refuses to let the Briggs family be forgotten.

Which piece would you most want to hold in your hands?

Time travel to the 1930s. You’ve got mail.What was in the mailbox at the Keyhole House during the depression-era?Nearly ...
10/03/2026

Time travel to the 1930s. You’ve got mail.

What was in the mailbox at the Keyhole House during the depression-era?

Nearly a century later, we can answer that question. John and Alice Briggs were living here with their three daughters—Joan, Barbara and Katherine—and pieces of their everyday mail have survived.

A fragment of a letter addressed to John Briggs, Hydroelectric Engineer.

A Christmas card for the Briggs family.

A 1933 issue of Pictorial Review addressed to Mrs. J. B. Briggs aka Alice. The popular American women’s magazine brought Depression-era fashion, fiction, household features and advertising right into the Keyhole House.

Then there’s their newspaper.

Across the top of this surviving piece of a 1934 Mail and Empire someone pencilled a single word:

BRIGGS.

Their copy had been set aside for them.

Two years later, The Mail and Empire would merge with The Globe to become The Globe and Mail.

Even the advertising takes us back. A colourful 1934 Redpath Sugar promotion declares “Let Redpath Sweeten It,” beside a 20-pound cloth sugar bag and a 5-pound carton.

Nearly a century later, these fragile pieces of paper allow us to peek inside an ordinary day in the life of a family who once called the Keyhole House home.

What piece of this vintage mail intrigues you the most?

10/02/2026

Two marks. Ten years apart. One mystery set in concrete.

While repointing the foundation of the Keyhole House, I uncovered the initials R.E.G.B. followed by OCT 17, punched into an old basement windowsill.

In another windowsill, Reginald Edward George Burroughs had signed his full name in beautiful cursive when his family moved here in 1907. The newly discovered mark is very different—formed from tiny stippled dots reminiscent of First World War trench art.

October 1917 marked a profound turning point in Reginald’s life. Having recently fought at Hill 70, he was admitted to hospital with shell shock and trench fever.

Did Reginald create this mark after returning home—or did someone leave it while waiting for him?

We are delighted to be featured in the Fall 2026 issue of Ottawa Valley Life. Pamela Steel’s article, “Mysteries of the ...
09/29/2026

We are delighted to be featured in the Fall 2026 issue of Ottawa Valley Life. Pamela Steel’s article, “Mysteries of the Keyhole House: Smiths Falls history reaches global audience,” follows the discoveries we’ve made in our 1892 home—and how they inspired a performance blending magic, illusion, dance, and storytelling that has travelled as far as China.

Inside are an 1892 note left by the house’s carpenters, the story of Agnes Lamb, and a photograph that led us to the unmarked grave of a WWI veteran. With help from the Last Post Fund, Sergeant John Briggs finally received a gravestone.

Thank you to Pamela and Ottawa Valley Life for sharing these stories. The Keyhole House still has mysteries to reveal.

Which one would you like us to tell you about next?

Address

182 Brockville Street
Smiths Falls, ON
K7A3Z1

Website

,

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The Keyhole House posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category