We pried up a concrete slab a the William Bailey House in Maple today, and discovered a hidden well. It proved to be about 18' deep, the water crystal clear, and, rather strangely, the water level several feet above the basement floor in the house which was only a few feet away!
The well shaft is neatly lined with brick, laid without mortar, and still in excellent condition. It seems to have been in use up until comparatively recently, judging from the galvanized pipe that runs into the adjacent basement and the concrete cap and access cover. It's the second unexpected find of this type - we had previously encountered a buried cistern with the same kind of cover around the corner.
While it's rather a shame, given the intact nature of the find, the well will be properly decommissioned and filled in. This is a legal requirement in Ontario (O-Reg 903, Wells, under the Ontario Water Resources Act).
