The Chabby House Story (1895 - 1910)

From a missing woman, to the First World War,

from the Spanish Flu epidemic to the Roaring Twenties,

this is the story of Chabby House

Part 1

The story of Chabby House starts with building of a homestead in 1895 on a piece of land south west of what was then known as the Hamlet of Midnapore. The construction of which was completed by July 1896.

The first owner, Lavinia Chabassol, arrived in Calgary by train in 1896. The few remaining photographs which are claimed to be of Lavinia, show a woman of perhaps 40 or 50 years of age. We have not yet found a record of where she came from.

Lavinia made her way to the property and promptly claimed it as her own. She grew a large garden but did not farm or ranch. As there was no visible means of income, it was assumed she was a woman of independent means.

At first neighbours attempted to welcome her to the community but reported her home being cold and having a peculiar smell. She was also impatient and at times rude. She did not seek company nor did she welcome any. In an effort to keep out prying eyes she built a fence around the house and planted tall growing plants. One must still enter the overgrown remains of her gardens to get to the back door of Chabby House.

Suspicion and dislike grew within the community at Lavinia's self-imposed isolation. A distant neighbour who happened to be passing by was reported saying “I saw a man go into her house last night but he never came out.”  Another said, “You can hear voices in there – women’s voices, but I have never seen anyone actually go into that lunatic's house.”

In 1908 the police were asked to visit the property to investigate strange noises and screaming said to be coming from the house. They received no answer to their knocks. When they tried the door, it was found to be unlocked. A search of the house was conducted. There was evidence that some sort of struggle or disturbance had taken place, over-turned furniture and blood stains but Lavinia was never found.

The investigation dragged on for several months. As no new information was obtained and due to circumstantial evidence, it decided that Lavinia had been murdered and her body removed.  The case was deemed cold and the house was abandoned, although many questions remained unanswered.

We are continuing to search for more information about Lavinia and what may have happened to her. We hope to add more details as our research uncovers more of her story.

Side Note: It was during the investigation of the Lavinia's disappearance that the private cemetery was discovered.  It was decided at that time to leave it as it lay. The surrounding vegetation was removed and a fence put up.  No one knows anything about those buried on the land during Lavinia's ownership of the land. You must enter the cemetery to reach the garden gate.