Fenelon Falls

Fenelon Falls circa 1875

The original image is perhaps the oldest known photograph of Fenelon Falls, taken around 1875, as cameras were first coming to the region. In the years that followed, the site’s appearance changed significantly. On the left is the timber slide, which was used for the annual log drive, and would persist into the twentieth century. In the background, the south shore of the Fenelon River has yet to be cleared and developed. On the right, the corner of the old Wallis grist mill is visible, by then operated by R.C. Smith. It collapsed in 1883, and was replaced by the taller, square stone mill that was a local landmark until it burned in 1970 (Botany Spinners/Rosedale Furniture).

On the right, in the foreground, lumber, or more likely mill slabs, are visible on the bank leading down to the river. Fenelon Falls’ sawmill was on the north shore (at this point there was not yet a canal) because it had many practical advantages. It was located beside the waterfall to use the water power, and the north shore was less precipitous than the cliffs to the south. Also, most of the population and businesses were located on the north shore. The lumber being produced at the mill was a bulky commodity and so it was manufactured beside the community’s wharf, where it could be loaded on scows to be towed behind steamships to Lindsay, where it was then replied onto rail cars for export.

This picture was taken at about the time that the Village of Fenelon Falls incorporated, specifically to bring the railway to town, and a few years before canal was built. The railway station would be built on the south side of river, spurring the development in the vicinity. The construction of the canal created Fenelon’s Island, while moving the wharf to the new north shore. Once the railway came to town, it no longer made sense to have the sawmill on the (soon to be) island, so R.C. Smith built his famous Red Mill on the south shore (Sobeys). Heritage House (R.W.H. Construction) was the company office. Within a few years, this scene was so radically altered that people comparing this photograph to later images from the same vantage might not realize that they are the same place. With the advent of recreational photography, this site would become one of the most commonly captured vistas in the region, photographed countless times. Who hasn’t snapped a shot of Fenelon Falls?

From the Church Hill

Fenelon Falls From the Church Hill: How much the village has changed and yet how much has stayed the same….

Gone are the days when the village was filled with stumps, and automobiles have replaced the horse and carriage, but the array of lots and streets remains much the same. Cornerstone Home Furniture (centre-right) sits in the place of George Crandell’s Hotel. The Great Fire of Fenelon Falls ignited at this site in 1884, destroying much of the west side of Colborne Street, which was subsequently replaced with the brick blocks that survive today.

The building across from Crandell’s is Deyman’s furniture and undertaking, the ancestor of Jardine Funeral Home. Note the board ladders nailed to roofs for fighting fire, and the Presbyterian Church, which now is (ironically) the Liquor Store.

Louisa Street from the Church Hill

Up to the early twentieth century, when the forests regrew, Fenelon Falls’ Anglican Church Hill was a favourite lookout to view the village. Looking west along Louisa Street towards Cameron Lake, circa 1900, J.H. Brandon’s House “Brandonhurst” stands prominently on the corner of Louisa and Colborne Streets. After being a private home, it briefly served as a school, before being demolished to make way for the new Fenelon Falls Public School, which was built in 1952. In 2000, the school was demolished to make way for the Sugarbush Villa townhouses.

Looking South from the Grist Mill

Situated on the north side of Fenelon Falls, the stone grist mill was a landmark and a wonderful vantage for taking photographs in all directions. Many historic photos of the village were taken from this site. Later on it was repurposed as the Botany Spinners and Rosedale Furniture, before burning in 1970.

The original image is colourized as a postcard. The artist likely never saw the original vista, so some things are not their actual colour. Heritage House (top left in original photo, built as the office for R.C. Smith’s Red Mill, now RWH construction) never was red brick, rather it is the same stone building seen in the contemporary photograph.

In the original photograph, the flume for the Lindsay power plant is on the far shore (at the start of the twentieth century, Fenelon Falls powered two hydro electric generating stations, one for the town of Lindsay, the other for home village). The log slide is closer to the centre of the river. Centre right, near the top of the original photograph is the stone school, now the Spry Masonic Lodge.

Maryboro Lodge

Maryboro Lodge, formerly a popular tourist lodge, is now a public museum, and remains a popular community gathering place.

Maryboro's Tennis Court

When the Abbott Sisters hosted guests at Maryboro Lodge, they had a tennis court on the lake side of the building. It is now a picnic area in the oak grove.

Maryboro Lodge Cabins

Some of the guests at Maryboro Lodge would in the cabins located between the historic house and the waterway. One of them was repurposed to become the museum's schoolhouse. Today the rain garden, lovingly maintained by the Fenelon Falls Horticultural Society, is located where this cabin once stood.

Swimming in the Canal

Despite the boat traffic, for the first half of the twentieth century, Fenelon Falls' most popular swimming area was the canal and the mouth of Cameron Lake. Note that both men and women commonly swam in their regular clothing. Since the beach park has been developed, aquatics have moved north to the shore of Cameron Lake, though many kids jump off the train bridge to this day.

37 Oak Street

37 Oak Street has long been one of the most striking homes on the street, originally built for F.J. Kerr. Oak Street had been the private park of town proprietor James Wallis, so it was not developed until the late nineteenth century, when prominent families built fine new homes. This created a beautiful neighbourhood that the City of Kawartha Lakes designated as a heritage district in 2017.

Oak Street

Many of the houses on Oak Street date from the late nineteenth or early twentieth century, making the streetscape quite recognizable. The road has been widened and paved, today there are concrete sidewalks, some trees have matured, while others have been cut down, and there is now museum in the park by Cameron Lake—but in many ways, the view looking down Oak Street is not that different than it was over a century ago.

Victoria Railway

The Victoria Railway has become a popular recreational corridor. Visitors can view Cameron Lake and the Fenelon River from the colourful butterfly benches, where the building for the swing bridge operator once stood.

Fenelon Station

In 1876, the Victoria Railway built a railway station at the present location of the Station Gallery (103 Lindsay Street), which partially burned four years later. In 1882, railway company built the present Fenelon Falls Station. The Victoria Railway amalgamated into the Midland Railway in 1882, only to merge into the Grand Trunk Railway two years later. The GTR later went bankrupt, was nationalized, then was absorbed into the Canadian National Railways in 1923. Though passenger traffic dwindled with the advent of automobiles, the CNR operated the former Victoria Railway until 1978. ...

Chamber of Commerce at Railway Station

As the tracks were taken up in the early 1980s, the Village of Fenelon Falls purchased the former railway station, for the Chamber of Commerce. In 1988, the building was substantially renovated, including the installation of a cinder block foundation. The Chamber of Commerce operated at this site until 1999, when they relocated to their present building on Oak Street. In 2005 the building was repurposed again, as the Station Gallery opened.

Railway Station and Co-op

By the late nineteenth century, most farm families lived largely off the fruits of their own labour, but they did need to buy household staples like salt and sugar. They also needed to get their grain ground, or to buy flour. Merchants accepted farm produce in barter. Many goods, like eggs and butter would typically be resold to other local customers. Wheat was one of the few farm commodities that were produced in sufficient quantity that there was a significant surplus that would be exported from the community. It was more valuable and easier to transport than potatoes—which were a local dietary staple: meat, potatoes, carrots and onions.

Once Fenelon Falls was connected by railway in 1876, the obvious place to build a grain warehouse was right beside the train station. In Fenelon Falls, it was owned by John H. Brandon, and constructed on the opposite side of the tracks, on Murray Street (now Fenelon Area Independent Living Association). In partnership with Findlay McDougall, he operated one of the largest grocery businesses in Fenelon Falls, and also the North Star Roller Mill. This business was well equipped to purchase grain from farmers, process it, and export it.

As the Great Plains became the centre of Canada’s wheat exports in twentieth century, it became unusual for local farmers to grow grain for export. Instead, many farmers produced oats as a fodder crop, which they needed to grind for their animals. What had once been the grain warehouse became the Co-op, which included a feed warehouse and chopping mill by 1938. Being located beside the railway station, it was prime location for receiving the farm supplies that came to town on the railway. In the mid twentieth century, few families had their own freezer, so the Co-op would rent out lockers that were about 3’ x 3’ x 2’.

By the time that Glen Godier took this photograph circa 1970, the railway was on its last legs. A decade had passed since regular passenger service had ceased, and ever more freight was being trucked rather than riding the rails. Most households had electrical service and their own freezer. The old grain elevator next door, that had once belonged to H.A. McIntosh had been sitting empty for a few years. In 1971, the Rotary Club of Fenelon Falls purchased the building, renovated it and then donated it to the Senior Citizens Club of Fenelon Falls four years later. In 2007, it burned and the Fenelon Area Independent Living Association built in its place, as the Seniors Club moved to 58 Murray Street. In 2005 the former railway station was rechristened as the Station Gallery, located on the Victoria Rail Trail. What was once the centre of agricultural exports from the community, is now seniors’ apartments and an art gallery—reflecting how the community and economy of Fenelon Falls have changed in a century and a half.

Horse and Buggy on Lindsay Street

A horse and buggy travels north up Lindsay Street, past the railway tracks towards the Brooks Hotel, circa 1905. At the time this photograph was taken, there were already utility poles on both sides of Lindsay street, which remains true today, while the south side of town has developed significantly.

Welcome to Fenelon Falls

Circa 1900, visitors from the south were welcomed to Fenelon Falls, “Where Every Tourist Gladly Calls.”

Bridge over the Falls

The bridge and Heritage House are still recognizable from a photograph circa 1960, while the roof of the former Lindsay Power Plant has been lowered to create a restaurant.

Lindsay Power Plant

For many years, Fenelon Falls had a power plant on either side of the falls. The one on the north shore supplied the village’s own needs (and was popularly called the Fenelon Power Plant), while the one on the opposite bank produced power for Lindsay (hence, the Lindsay Power Plant). ...

Derelict Lindsay Power Plant

... In 1972, the buildings north of the falls were demolished, making way for more parkland on Fenelon’s Island. The old power plant on the south shore stood derelict, and the upper parts of it were demolished in 1973. Henry and Gertrud Sternberg built the Fallsview Restaurant on the old stone foundation. Today, it continues to operate as the Locker at the Falls.

From the Northeast

Fenelon Falls from the Air, circa 1963

This original aerial image shows both the Lindsay and Fenelon Falls power plants on either side of the Falls. The Alpine Inn stands on the cliffs overlooking the gorge. On the island, the lock gates are being hung for the season beside the newly completed park and lock station. Allen Wood Products, manufacturer of the Tinkertoy, is visible on the shore of Cameron Lake. Lenses from that period often brought distant objects forward into view. In the background, Jackett's and Ormell's pits are visible. The hills they were excavating were much larger than they are today. Foster Kelly's Plumbing Showroom can be seen on Francis Street, east of Colborne. Many buildings on the main street still stand, though Canadian Tire - now Subway was then 3 stories tall. Immanuel Baptist Church is still situated at the bottom right.

The Sundial

The Sundial Motel, once a popular restaurant offering Broasted Chicken, remains a motel, though it is now an Ultramar Gas Station as well.

Water Street

In 1944 Fenelon Falls residents would swim on the side of the canal, in the same channel where boats would pass. Today it is parking for the public boat launch.

Stanton's Becomes Sider's

In 1957 J.H. Stanton’s photographic studio was rebuilt as Sider’s Jewellery and an IGA grocery store.

Sider's Becomes Stokes on Trent

After the IGA constructed a new store further north on Colborne Street, Siders operated both halves of the building, and were succeeded by Stokes on Trent. Today the building is the sales office for the new Fenelon Lakes Club condominium and the Lil’ Wee Quilt Shop. The Fenelon Falls Rotary Club often showcases their Classic Car Raffle vehicle on site.

Meat Counter at Fenelon Falls IGA

Up to the mid twentieth century, most families bought their groceries at a general store. Being a merchant was seen as a good job, and vendors spent much of their time trying to source the products they sold. Farm families often brought in produce to barter, and Lindsay’s Lamantia and Polito families acted as wholesalers. Lamantias drove to Toronto to buy produce at the Ontario Food Terminal, then sold it at their Lindsay store or to other local merchants.

In 1957, Ray Wolfe partnered with Chicago’s Independent Grocer’s Alliance to introduce IGA stores to Canada, as he founded Oshawa Wholesale Limited. That same year John Sobko obtained a franchise for Fenelon Falls—being one of the first stores in Canada. The original IGA was located in the north half of the building constructed by Sider’s Jewellers (now The Lil Wee Quilt Shoppe)—it was just a single main street store. ...

Produce Section at Fenelon Falls IGA

The original IGA had many of the same departments as shoppers are accustomed to find at a grocery store today, but with much less selection—today Sobeys devotes more floor space to snacks than the entire store originally encompassed. The IGA had a centre display running the length of the store, with a meat counter at the back. Its produce section included grapes, cabbage, celery, radishes, lettuce, corn, apples, grapefruit, squash, potatoes, onions, carrots, lemons, oranges, pears, cucumbers, tomatoes, spinach and parsnips. Much of the merchandise was non-perishable, such as canned meats, vegetables and fruits, Quaker Oats or personal care products. Other than having a produce section and meat counter, the merchandise carried would be comparable to a variety store today. Meat was cut on a band saw as customers watched—which would not be possible given the health and safety regulations today. But when the IGA opened it was an exciting event, as shoppers lined up outside to see the new supermarket and variety of foods it carried. ...

Aisle at Fenelon Falls IGA

The IGA soon outgrew its original store. In 1966, John Sobko bought the three adjacent stores, known as the McCallum block (for McCallum’s Men’s Wear and Custom Tailoring, a long-standing business). He demolished these three stores to build a much larger IGA. He then purchased the next block of stores to the north, for an expansion that opened in 1983. After operating as a Garden Market for a year, in 2002, Mark and Lisa Knoester rebranded the store as a Sobeys, as it moved to the south side of the bridge, into a much larger building. Shoppers at Sobeys today might have a hard time imagining when it was an exciting event for the village to have a supermarket—one where the entire dairy products section fit in a display that was about the same size as the cooler filled with products on sale at the end of the aisle. But once customers had shopped at a supermarket, within a few years it became the norm. Villages like Fenelon Falls would no longer be home to multiple general stores.

Livery Stable

Originally the livery stable for the McArthur House Hotel, in the mid twentieth century this stone building facing the locks was home to John Demerling’s machine shop and Dick Bulmer’s Blacksmith Shop. After a generation as the Livery Stable gift shop, it has been transformed into the Fenelon Brewery.

Livery Stable Burns

On November 30, 1990, the Livery Stable, Coconuts Restaurant, Switzerland Upholstery and the Salvation Army Thrift Shop Burned. The building was restored after the fire, then substantially altered two decades later, to reopen as the Fenelon Falls Brewing Company in August 2019.

Canal View

Watching Boats pass through the locks remains popular today, as it was when the locks were reconstructed in the early 1960s.

Manita in the Canal

Launched in 1900, the Manita covered the northwestern section of the Trent Valley Navigation Company’s transportation network (Coboconk-Fenelon Falls-Sturgeon Point-Lindsay). Steamboat travel became a defining image of the Victoria era, but the Manita and the era of paddle wheelers proved short-lived with the advent of private motor launches that dominate the waterway today...

Manita Nears the Train Bridge

When the Manita was carrying passengers between Lindsay and Coboconk, the barrier on the south side of the canal was made of wooden coffer cribs with a fence in between. Since then, it was replaced with concrete piers, which have settled significantly since they were installed. The landmark windmill was located at 29 Oak Street (now the Blue Oak), which was then owned by Frank Sandford, who manufactured carriages on Fenelon's Island.

Fenelon Canal

Most of the shops facing the canal have changed since the 1970s.

Dam and Island

Viewed from the Bridge over the Falls, the Fenelon Dam is no longer surrounded by Flett’s Cabins and the Fenelon Creamery. The Trent Severn Waterway cleared the island in the 1960s to make way for the park.

View from the Island

When Glen Godier snapped this photograph from Fenelon Falls’ island in 1970, it had been seven years since the village’s new lock, station house and island park had opened to the public. Canadian Tire (now Subway and the Grove Theatre Box Office) was situated in the old McArthur House hotel, with Sider’s Jewellery and Sider’s Specialties located on the opposite side of Colborne Street (now Abeck Accounting and The Lil’ Wee Quilt Shoppe. The third storey of the old hotel has been taken down, and its brick exterior clad in steel. The reproduction lockmaster’s house opened on August 7, 2010, as part of the village’s Heritage Day celebrations.

Cenotaph Unveiled

Fenelon Falls' Cenotaph was originally dedicated on the Island, beside Lyon's Motors in 1934. A large crowd attended the unveiling as practically everyone had either served in the Great War, or was close to someone else who had. The stone structure was 12 feet tall, weighed 10 tons and cost $1400.35. Today, the lock station is close to the former site of the Lyon's Motors, while the Cenotaph once stood near the Parks Canada sign.

... And Moved to the Market Square

In 1957, the Cenotaph was moved to the Market Square, shortly before Parks Canada transformed the island into greenspace.

Cenotaph

Where the Parks Canada signs now informs motorists of the National Historic Site as they cross the bridges, Fenelon Falls' Cenotaph once remembered the fallen soldiers from the World Wars.

Handley Lumber

Though the sawdust pile is gone, the mill at Handley Lumber is still managed by Chris Handley, great-grandson of its builder Joe. Chris’ father Ken still operates the mill.

McArthur House

The McArthur House, shown here with owner John Aldous and his famous race horse Little Hector, became the local Canadian Tire…

Canadian Tire Becomes Subway

Before Canadian Tire was in turn reincarnated as Subway.

Log Drive in the Locks

Generations have passed since the last drive passed down the Trent Watershed, as the log booms of centuries past have given way to pleasure craft. The old cranks still stand by the lock, but today they there are purely ornamentation. At the time this photograph was taken, Fenelon Falls had a two-stage lock, but it has since been reconstructed with a single chamber further upstream—so there is no gate today where the old wooden doors once hung. The new fixed concrete bridge has replaced the old swing, and stands a little further downstream. The old lock walls have been cut away to facilitate the stairs passing under the bridge. Cliffside Villa now overlooks the gorge, while the tip of the island has gone from being barren of trees to being so densely wooded that the Fenelon River is no longer visible. Through all the changes over the years, the cliffside cedars are still there, how old might they be?

Rebuilding the Lock

In 1963 W.G. Jackett & Sons excavated to create a locks, leaving a giant stone pillar where the upper lock gate now sits.

Lower Lock

Before the reconstruction, Fenelon Falls needed a two-stage lock to overcome the 23 foot drop from Cameron to Sturgeon Lake.

Swing Bridge

Where the swing bridge once opened to allow boats to pass through the Upper Fenelon Lock, since its 1963 reconstruction boats now pass under the bridge at the level of Sturgeon Lake. Lyon’s Garage is in the background of the original photograph.

Swing Bridge and Colborne Street

With the new single stage lock, a swing bridge (shown circa 1930) was no longer needed. The fixed concrete bridge continues to allow motorized traffic to pass uninterrupted.

Fighting the Fire at Rosedale Furniture

For generations, one of the most prominent buildings in Fenelon Falls was the stone grist mill, which stood on the north shore of the waterfall. Four stories in height, it was among the first buildings that would be seen from either direction while travelling along the main street. The massive scale of its stone walls was loomed large over the waterfall.

R.C. Smith began construction of a new grist mill in 1875, but he ran into financial difficulties and it was not completed in his lifetime. The syndicate of Austin, McDougall & Brandon purchased the property and would operate it until 1917, when it was gutted by fire. Afterwards it was repurposed to make bathtubs, then leather goods, became a chopping mill, then home to the Fenelon Falls Garment Company—later Botany Spinners. In 1968, Rosedale Furniture purchased the building and operated it until it burned again on April 28, 1970.

Once again, the building was gutted but the old stone walls still stood. The land was owned by Parks Canada, and the buildings on the island were constructed based on leases. The government was interested in creating greenspace, and had already forced the removal of the buildings on the opposite side of the street. In late winter 1972, “a one-ton ball at the end of a crane reduced the stone walls to a pile of rubble,” marking the end of an era in Fenelon Falls. All of the buildings were removed east of the main street—including a power plant—turning the site into greenspace. In the late 1990s, a new power plant was built on the site, which was much more compact than its predecessors.

Norm Kelly on the Swing Bridge

Many people took an interest as W.G. Jackett and Sons excavated the lock pit to build a new single stage lock, in place of the two lifts that then existed. Once this new lock was opened in 1963, the swing bridge was no longer needed and could be replaced by a fixed concrete span. The Chamber of Commerce and Botany Spinners, which appear in the background, were subsequently demolished as Parks Canada converted the Fenelon Island into greenspace.

Digging the Lock Pit

For two winters, W.G. Jackett and Sons excavated the Fenelon Lock Pit to facilitate the installation of the new lock. Trucking material out of a ramp at the head of the canal, they carved out the channel to allow the installation of a single lock chamber, which opened in 1963.

Foot of the Island

The Village of Fenelon Falls Municipal Building and Fire Tower once stood on the Island, which the Trent Severn has cleared to create a public park.

Log Drivers on the Fenelon River

From the mid nineteenth century until trucks started to become common around 1920, log driving was the primary means of transporting logs long distance to a mill—or timbers to Quebec City for transatlantic shipment. Practically all large sawmills in the Trent Valley during this period were located on the water, downstream from the timber a company intended to harvest. Over the course of the winter logs would be felled, skidded, loaded on sleighs, hauled, then piled on or near the ice. The drive began as soon as the ice broke upon on the streams in spring. Lumber companies relied on the flow of the spring freshet to wash the logs downstream, carefully managed by control dams.

The water could literally be at the freezing point and many log drivers could scarcely swim. Log drivers were typically young, adventurous men—"a light-hearted set of dare devils and the greatest rascals and thieves that ever a peaceful country was tormented with.” One exceptional log driver, George Cloot, who worked for Trenton’s Gilmour Company, passed through the region in 1894 on his 51st drive. Many young men from the Kawarthas worked in logging camps in winter, then rode the logs to the mills come spring—many more labourers were brought from rural Quebec.

To burl on a log (as walking/balancing was called), river drivers wore caulk (pronounced “cork”) boots—leather, with ¼ inch spike cleats that could be purchased complete or separately. These boots were also useful for bar fights and Coboconk’s Pattie House was a favourite stop on the way down. Log drivers developed remarkable skill at burling, as they used a pike pole to collect logs and guide them around obstacles. Their incredible skills would be put on display when they had to break a log jam—a volunteer would climb out on the mass and then hopefully scramble back to shore as the whole mass of logs started to move. Many rapids in the area have long forgotten log drivers’ cemeteries on the shore nearby. Many larger watercourses were fitted with log slides to overcome cataracts.

As the nineteenth century wore on, log drives got longer as the merchantable pine close to mills had been cutover. Often log drives lasted into the summer. When the Gilmour Company started cutting in Algonquin Park, some of their drives took two years to reach Trenton. A huge amount of work went into floating a log to a mill—supplying the crews, towing logs across lakes, guiding logs past rapids, sorting logs to separate different companies’ produce, maintaining and managing all the dams. This was only a fraction of the work that went into getting a log to market. Some timbers were shipped all the way to Great Britain, using water, muscle and wind power (steamships and coal power were becoming common as the British trade was declining). All of the work that went into floating logs to market was a reflection of how valuable timber was, especially in Britain, relative to a river driver’s wage.

Fenelon Falls Centennial Celebration on Island

In 1968, Al Nicholson was hired to become Fenelon Falls Secondary School’s new music teacher, after Ruth Sims moved on to LCVI. Al soon became one of the school’s unforgettable personalities. He was great at listening to students and finding a way to tailor lessons to their interests, even when it meant including Elvis in music class. Many of his students will long remember his rule, “No Put Downs”—no one was allowed to make a derogatory comment about anything or anyone including themselves. Because of this, his classes were unusually polite.

Al had a sincere love of music and mathematics, which he shared with his community. When the time came to celebrate Fenelon Falls’ Centennial in 1975 (the celebrations were a year late due to main street sewer construction), Al conducted the choir performing on Fenelon Falls’ Island. At the time the village had a great amount of community spirit. A great many people dressed up in historic costume for events throughout the village, as everyone looked back on what Fenelon Falls was like when it was incorporated in 1874. One of the most popular events was a parade from the Sundial Motel (Ultramar) to the Rotary Ball Park (Russ Baptiste Park) on May 31, followed by a fashion show and a centennial dance at the arena (then at the corner of Bond and John Streets).

A lot has changed in downtown Fenelon Falls since this original picture was taken. It shows the second Fenelon Falls IGA in the background, which subsequently expanded north along Colborne Street (now Red Apple), before moving south of the bridge. Canadian Tire, has likewise transferred to the other side of town to have much more floor space and parking. Several shops, including Subway now occupy its former location. The Fenelon Dairy Bar once made its own ice cream, before becoming a Dixie Lee Fried Chicken restaurant. In summer, its successor, Slices and Scoops, continues to be a popular place to enjoy Kawartha Dairy ice cream with pizza, while watching boats on pass through the Fenelon Falls lock.

Colborne Street from the Roof of McFarland’s Store

The buildings on the west side of Colborne Street South are similar to what they were in September 1970 when Glen Godier took this original image, though the third storey has been removed from the McArthur House/Canadian Tire/Subway. At the time the photo was taken, the old grist mill on the island was a burned-out stone shell, which was demolished as the island was cleared. Handley Lumber, on the opposite side of the river, was also rebuilt after a 1992 fire.

Though many of the buildings are the same, the village’s main street has changed significantly. The overhead hydro lines are now a distant memory, as is angle parking. The sidewalks have been widened, and the Fenelon Lakes Club Condominium can now be seen in the distance. For many years a telephone booth stood on the corner of Colborne and Francis Streets. Today, there is no need to carry a dime to make a phone call, as practically everyone has a cell phone.

The CIBC still stands on the corner, and the MacArthur Drug Store continues to operate at 21 Colborne Street, but the other businesses have changed in the intervening years. Fotheringham’s Bakery became Peter’s Hairstyling Place in 1974, and has since become Salon 31. Taylor’s Variety store was later a Stedman’s, then Pick N’ Save before Randy Meredith transformed it into Grr8 Finds Market in 2009. On the east side of Colborne Street, Coburn’s drug store would later become Stinson’s before moving across the street (now Pharmasave), while June and Fred’s Restaurant is now the Cow and Sow.

Muddy Colborne Street, Fenelon Falls, circa 1900

In the late nineteenth century, the best roads in the Trent Valley region had some gravel or broken stone spread on their surface—but the depth of aggregate was shallow compared to what was built up over the course of the twentieth century. Asphalt paving began to appear around 1910. Around 1900, even the main street of towns and villages were muddy. Lindsay had been built in a swamp and local residents would long remember wagons sinking up to their axles on Kent Street. Fenelon Falls was drier, but nevertheless, Colborne Street could be mucky, especially as the snow melted in spring.

The village had sidewalks because many ladies and gentlemen would be hesitant to walk through the mud—especially if they were wearing a beautiful white dress or tailored suit. The sidewalks were wooden decks, which were only in certain parts of town, for instance in front of stores and churches. Inevitably, the boards rotted, and occasionally could flip up when someone broke through walking on them. Built on the ground, pedestrians would have to step up onto the sidewalk from the main street. Needless to say, crossing the main street often entailed walking through the mud.

This photograph shows Joseph Heard’s hardware store on the (left) east side of Colborne Street in the foreground. Opened in 1883, it included an implement warehouse and one room filled with stoves—predating insulation, houses of this period often had more than one stove. Its twinned storefront was painted olive green, and stood out from the other businesses in town. Across the road, Washington Northey’s Restaurant offered Victorian treats like sodas, handmade ice cream, cigars and oysters.

In the distance, Fenelon Falls’ stone grist mill appears on the island, between Fenelon Falls’ bridges. This building was one of the most prominent Fenelon Falls landmarks, but for much of its history it was either vacant or used for other purposes. In 1883, the corner of James Wallis’ old mill collapsed and R.C. Smith began work on a replacement. He ran into financial troubles, and the mill was not completed in his lifetime. The syndicate of Austin, McDougall & Brandon purchased it in 1896—twenty-one years after construction began. They operated it until 1917, when it was gutted by fire. The stone walls stood firm and it was repurposed many times in the years that followed, before again being gutted by fire on April 28, 1970. After this catastrophe, the building was demolished as the federal government converted the island into a park surrounding the locks.

Looking South on Colborne Street

For generations, the old stone grist mill was a Fenelon Falls landmark, located on the north shore of the waterfall that gave the village its name. As motorists crossed the bridge over the canal, they would turn past the mill to access the bridge over the falls. In the nineteenth century, the site was used to grind grain, but by the 1930s fewer families were using small local grist mills to process their farm produce. Emanuele and Aino Restivo transformed the property into the Fenelon Falls Garment Company in 1935. Thirteen years later, Jack Barrett and Rev. Gosnell rechristened it as the Botany Spinners. In 1968, Rosedale Furniture began manufacturing on site, only to have the old mill burn on April 28, 1970. The remains were demolished, making way for more greenspace on Fenelon Falls’ Island.

Colborne Street West Side

Many buildings from 1940 remain on the west side of Colborne Street, including the banks on the corner… the CIBC was originally built as the post office.

Colborne Street East Side

Across the Street, the southern most stores have seen several reconfigurations, from 1900 to 1960…

Colborne Street East Side Reincarnated

And 1960 to the present.

Taylor's Variety

In 1912, Ethel and Fred Warren opened a dry goods store at 27 Colborne Street—which evolved into a variety store. In 1964, Ed Taylor purchased the store, and would act as an associate dealer for Stedman’s Department Stores. When Pat Durr took over the operation in 1976, he changed the name to Stedman’s. In 1991, Utsav and Sunita (Sonny) Bhatt changed it to a Pick N’ Save, with an outlet for Sears. In 2009, Randy Meredith changed it into a multi-vendor marketplace, featuring many antiques and a candy store. He operated it until he passed away in 2022, as was remembered as his many friends dressed up as he once had to share a Wacky Wednesday. Just to the north of Taylor’s Variety in the original photograph is Bob Vanalstyne’s Meat Market.

Fenelon Falls IGA

Up to the 1950s, most local general stores were operated independently, and several different retailers sold groceries and dry goods in the village. IGA was among the first grocery chains to serve the region, opening franchises in Fenelon Falls, Minden and Bobcaygeon. In 1957, Fenelon Falls’ IGA opened at 10 Colborne Street, beside Sider’s Jewellery (later Stokes on Trent, now the Lil Wee Quilt Shop—the former IGA is the Fenelon Lakes Club Sales Office). This new business model was quite successful and before long the IGA had outgrown the premises. Ten years later, John Sobko opened a new store where McCallum’s Merchant Tailor had operated for decades—just north of the original store on Colborne Street. In 1983, the store again expanded to the north, demolishing the block that had once housed the public library and Murchison, Sangster & Folkes Insurance. ...

IGA from Behind

... In 2002, Mark and Lisa Knoester rebranded the IGA store as Sobeys, and moved to a much larger premises on Lindsay Street, just south of the Falls. The IGA building became a Bargain Shop and later Red Apple.

McFarland's Store

In local villages like Fenelon Falls, the first stores were often informal, operated by prominent gentlemen, who unlike their neighbours frequently made the arduous journey by foot, scow or canoe to attend to business in other centres. Their friends and neighbours often asked them to pick up something for them when they were travelling. By the 1870s, the community had grown sufficiently that it was home to multiple stores. For that era, when a strong majority of adults were housewives, farmers or worked in the lumber industry, storekeeping was a good profession. Shopkeepers were often perceived to be among the wealthy families in the village. It might have been true, given the wages paid in the lumber industry and families scrimping to get by: Waste not, want not!

In 1873, Joseph McFarland purchased the stock of Joseph Littleton to open a store. Having grown up in nearby Verulam Township, twenty-three year old McFarland had previously worked for R.C. Smith, who owned saw and grist mills at Fenelon Falls. As he was starting out, the village was already home to several stores. In early years, McFarland’s grocery store shared a building with Finn’s Boots and Shoes and M.H.J. Cochrane’s residence. In March 1877, he partnered with John Moffatt, which lasted for six years. By 1883, he had moved to a new location and expanded his business to offer groceries, glassware, crockery, tea, sugar, boots, shoes and ready-made fabric. Up to the mid twentieth century, it was more economical to buy fabric and sew rather than opting for finished garments. As was customary at the time, he delivered goods by horse and wagon. In July 1894, Joseph installed electric lights in his store, just as electricity was coming to the village.

Joseph McFarland would operate the business until he passed away in 1911, when it transferred to his nephew Andrew and his son Clifford. Cousin Wellington “Welly/Willy” McFarland also worked in the business. McFarland’s would become one of several Fenelon Falls stores from the Victorian era that would last generations—others included William Campbell’s and William Burgoyne’s. At one point, Fenelon Falls had seven general or grocery stores, each of which catered to its own unique clientele. By the mid twentieth century, McFarland’s had developed a reputation for looking after the farming community. It was the place that many Fenelon Falls residents went to buy boots and shoes.

Many stores were built upon the friendships that their proprietors had with their customers. Where Burgoyne’s had a reputation for selling the finest of everything, McFarland’s was remembered as a place for “ordinary working folk.” Welly married Alice Green, a farm girl who had grown up near Bury’s Green. Many of her old neighbours would faithfully shop at McFarland’s store. It was customary for farm families to make the trip into town on Saturday night. Many congregated on the main street, or in their favourite store. Playing horseshoes just to the north of Vanatters (now Kawartha North Family Health Team) was a popular activity, as was visiting the pool hall—a place where most women would not be caught dead! By the late 1940s, families might even catch a movie like Bambi or Ma and Pa Kettle at the new theatre in town.

By the mid twentieth century, local families’ shopping habits were changing. Eaton’s had operated a mail order catalogue since the nineteenth century. For many rural children who grew up shopping at the local general store, it was amazing to pick up a catalogue and see everything that could be ordered. The former Burgoyne Store, carried on as Watson’s Village Shop, handled deliveries for Sears. In contrast to the chain stores which relied on centralized distribution networks, traditional shopkeepers spent a lot of time finding suppliers for everything they dealt. Much of the merchandise was purchased from local families, hence the need for an egg grading station in McFarland’s basement. Keeping a general store had once seemed like a good job, but by the second half of the twentieth century, many were specializing or becoming variety stores.

Alice McFarland carried on the business after her husband died in 1948, but it was becoming evident that times were changing, as she continued selling clothing in the dark hardwood display cases characteristic of Victorian Ontario. For decades, McFarland’s store had been on the northeast corner of Francis and Colborne Streets, but in 1955 she sold the building to John Coburn who opened a drug store (later Stinson’s). One half of the store had been groceries and the other dry goods like men’s clothing, work clothes, shorts, pants, coats, vests and socks. After selling the building, Alice carried on dealing boots, shoes and clothing in the north half. Shortly after Glen Godier took this photo in December 1969, Alice sold the business to Brian Devan, who renamed it Devan the Pant Man. By then, an era had ended as ordinary working families were no longer producing butter and eggs to barter for cloth so they could sew their own clothing. The era of supermarkets and department stores had come. Not many local businesses lasted as long as McFarland’s Store—which served the everyday needs of ordinary working families for almost a century.

North Ward Public School

Originally built in 1869, seven years later two rooms were added to accommodate increasing attendance. In 1912, the South Ward School merged, and this structure was renamed Fenelon Falls Public School. This building served as a school until 1953, when the new public school was built down the road. Since then it has been used as the Fenelon Falls Gazette office, a laundromat, the Pop Shoppe, Matthew's & Associates office and Art & Peggy Long's (McColl Turner) office. Today it is an apartment building.

Breakwater

Though it has been worn down by decades of waves, the breakwater still guides boats into the Fenelon Canal.

Canal's North Side

Prior to its reconstruction in the early 1960s, the Fenelon Canal had a small operators building on the north side.

Fenelon Falls

It’s hard not to be struck by how much less water is going over the falls than in the early 1980s, now that the power plant (on the far shore) is generating electricity. Except for a brief lull in the late twentieth century, Fenelon Falls has been harnessed as a power source for much of the past two centuries, from the days when it powered Fenelon Falls’ saw and grist mills to the first conversion to electricity at the end of the nineteenth century. For many years, there was a power plant on both sides of the falls.

Many of the buildings in the background look very different, though they are the same structures. The old McArthur House, then a Canadian Tire is now Subway, but has blue metal covering its upper brick façade. The former Stokes on Trent looks quite different without the shutters, and prominent white sign.

Falls from the Island

Today as in the mid-twentieth century, Fenelon Falls remains one of the most photographed sites in the village.

Fenelon Island in Winter

Fenelon Island has changed greatly since the 1960s. Gone are the old stone grist mill, Fenelon Falls power station, fire tower and municipal buildings. The island is now largely greenspace, with a new generating station, constructed in 1997, tucked under the bridge. A concrete pier has also been added extending the tip of the island to the east. In the mid twentieth century, the Fenelon River froze over, except for a patch around the falls, today it is open water. In the background, the old McArthur House Hotel (Canadian Tire, now Subway) has been reduced from three stories to two.

Old Grist Mill, Power Plant and Fire Tower, October 1971

Up to the mid twentieth century, Fenelon Falls’ Island was a centre of industrial activity in the village. It was originally the site of the village’s saw and grist mills constructed by James Wallis and Robert Jameson—the southwest corner of grist mill collapsed in 1883. Though R.C. Smith began construction of a second grist mill in 1875, due to his financial troubles it would not be completed in his lifetime—only when Austin, McDougall and Brandon purchased it in 1896. It would remain a village landmark for generations. It operated as a grist mill until 1917, when it burned, but the stone walls stood firm. It was repurposed many times in the years that followed, serving as the Chamber of Commerce and Rosedale Furniture at the time it burned on April 28, 1970. The remains of the old stone mill were demolished along with the other buildings at the east end of the island in 1972.

To its right was the Fenelon Falls Power Plant, initially constructed in 1903 to provide electric lighting to the village. Behind these two water-powered industries were the Fenelon Falls municipal building, consisting of the fire station, with attached tower—at the time it was constructed, the cloth hoses needed to be hung to dry. The island also included a small jail and the municipal office. After these buildings were demolished, this area was greenspace for many years. In 1997 Consolidated Hydro constructed a new generating station on the site, with W.G. Jackett and Sons doing the excavation.

Dine at the Falls

The popular patio of the Falls View Restaurant lives on as the Locker.

Installing a Storm Sewer

In 1966, G.C. Romano Construction Company was hired to install a storm sewer running south down Lindsay Street and draining into the river, just below the falls. The old Lindsay power station on the right has been reincarnated as the Falls View Restaurant, now the Locker at the Falls. On the opposite side of the falls, the island has been substantially changed. Gone are the Fenelon power station, fire tower and municipal buildings, as Parks Canada has transformed the island into greenspace. With the buildings on the island removed, the Lil Wee Quilt Shop (formerly Siders, then Stokes on Trent) is now visible from the south shore. In the distance, the Anglican Church on the hill burned in 1967. Instead of this landmark, the water tower is now visible across town, standing tall above the maturing forest on the church hill.

Mack's Service Station

Since the early 1900s, there has been a gas station at the corner of Helen and Lindsay Streets. Built by Archie McKendry, it operated for many years as Mack’s Service Station. The original photo dates from the 1930s, and shows the village’s grist mill in the background. In that era, gasoline pumps ran the fuel through clear, graduated cylinders, so customers could not only see the volume they were purchasing, but the quality of the product. In May 1962, Archie McKendry sold the business to Max and Boots (Yvonne) Jones, who erected a larger building, and continued operating it as a Sunoco until April 1967.

Looking Across the Fenelon River to Handley Lumber and Sunoco, 1970

Since Glen Godier took this photograph of the view across the Fenelon River from the island, Handley Lumber built a much larger showroom, then rebuilt the structure after a 1992 fire. There has been a service station on the corner of Helen and Lindsay Streets for generations. Opened by Archie McKendry, it then passed to Max and Boots Jones. In the years since, it has had many owners, including Peter Bouras, who operated it as a UPI. Today it is a Pioneer gas station.

Lorne's Live Baits and UPI

By the time this original photograph was taken on Ride for Sight Weekend, 1995, Peter Bouras had purchased the village's Sunoco, which became a UPI (which was the same company). More recently it has operated as an Esso, before becoming a Pioneer in 2023. After operating a bait shop beside Kendrick's Snack Bar (the Willows) for about five years, Lorne Robinson set up his live bait business in the parking lot of the gas station. Over the years he sold a lot of worms, leeches and minnows.

Fenelon Falls Truck Stop and Highlands Propane

George Jackett’s original photo shows the Fenelon Falls Truck Stop and Highlands Propane on Ride for Sight Weekend, 1995. Since the picture was taken, Highlands Propane has become a much larger business, displacing the truck stop and also opening a location on Colborne Street.

Bank of Montreal

Before the advent of deposit insurance in 1967, when a deposit was made in a bank, customers were assuming the risk that they might lose their money if the bank failed. Fenelon Falls’ first bank was a private institution, Westcott, Denison & Co., which operated less than a year from 1881-1882. The Fenelon Falls Gazette thought that the reason that it closed was a lack of public confidence in the unknown proprietors. The Toronto Financial Corporation set up a branch in the McArthur Block (which now contains Subway), with H.J. Lytle and later G. Herbert Dartnell as manager. Unfortunately, the company was placed in the hands of liquidators in 1898, as its customers were holding about $4000 in deposits.

The Bank of British North America was established by Royal Charter in 1836, and by the start of the twentieth century, it was a well-established institution that was broadly seen as being secure. In September 1901, J.C. McKeggie & Co. set up a branch in the McArthur Block (now Subway) and may have been an agent for the Bank of British North America. In January 1903, the Bank of British North America bought out McKeggie, reopening the bank under its own name and would move to the northwest corner of Francis and Colborne Streets.

The Bank of Montreal opened a competing institution at 30 Colborne Street (Room by Tim & Chris) on the opposite side of the road. In 1918, the Bank of Montreal and Bank of British North America merged, as the institution occupied the corner lot. For many years, the building to the north was a butcher shop operated by Paul Ouelette, Bill Bothwick and Earl Vanatter, before being consolidated into the Bank of Montreal. Fortunately for local residents, this financial institution has stood the test of time.

Palmer Insurance

John T. Palmer opened an insurance business in Fenelon Falls in 1921. In 1932 or 1933, his son George and wife Ila joined the business, which was operating from their home. In 1950, it moved into the shop beside the Bank of Montreal. George’s son, also named John grew up in the business and would carry it on with his wife Berteena. They became Insurance Brokers and had three children: George, Jocelyn and Janette. John passed away in 2013, and the business later became a branch of Stewart Morrison Insurance, now Westland Insurance. Since the original picture was taken, Palmer Insurance moved north and Royal LePage now sells real estate from their former office.

Beckers, circa 1972

Frank Bazos founded the Becker Milk Company in Toronto in 1957. In that era, milk tended to be delivered to homes daily in glass bottles. With the advent of electric refrigeration, it was becoming possible to keep milk for longer periods of time and package it in larger containers. Customers purchasing milk in glass bottles were required to pay a deposit, to ensure that they were returned. In the 1960s, plastic milk jugs started to become common, as the Becker Milk Company expanded to become a convenience store, with many franchised locations—albeit one strongly associated with milk in plastic jugs. The Fenelon Falls location opened in a former farm implement shop, operated by the Robson Family and more recently Newell Watson.

The Fenelon Dairy processed milk on Water Street, across from the locks into the 1960s, packaging it into glass bottles and offering home delivery—though they had an excellent location for marketing their products beside the waterway. Beckers became known for their milk in disposable pint, quart and one gallon jugs. This new technology was lighter, more convenient and economical than milk in glass containers. Within a few years plastic became the norm, as many of the local dairies disappeared—but not Kawartha Dairy, they switched to plastic bags. The federal government changed Canada to metric measurements in the 1970s, which favoured bagged milk, because it was easier to adjust the package to litres from quarts. In 1990, Ontario introduced an environmental protection act requiring that retailers like Beckers charge a deposit on milk jugs, but not plastic milk bags—making the company’s milk jugs less convenient. In 1996, the parent company of their rival Mac’s Milk (Alimentation Couche Tard) bought Beckers, and subsequently retired the brand name. The flower from the company logo was used in the Daisy Mart logo, an independent chain of stores affiliated with the Couche Tard. Fenelon Falls’ Daisy Mart has since become S-Mart.

Carload and Reid's

The former Carload Food Market (c 1960) has stood vacant for several years recently, while the Reid’s Variety Store remained the as J’n B’s before becoming Jim Newton’s electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling.

Fenelon Falls’ Stratton Cup Celebrations at Northey’s Restaurant

Before there was television, radio, the National Hockey League or even its predecessor the National Hockey Association, there were still hockey heroes—just they were hometown players. Communities gathered to follow the hockey stars they knew in real life. At the turn of the century, there was more than one silver challenge trophy named after a politician and Fenelon Falls’ team competed for the Stratton Cup.

At that time, hockey teams consisted of seven players and there were no line changes. The goaltender, right wing, centre and left wing positions would be familiar to hockey fans today. Instead of having right and left defencemen, teams included a point and cover point. The point was a defensive player, described as practically a second goaltender, who would not rush up ice, but would pass the puck up to forwards. The cover point, would play around his own goal as long as the puck was nearby, and would skate to about the middle of the rink to pass the puck back up to the forwards and take a shot if there was an opening. The rover was often one of the best skaters on the team, contributing offensively and defensively, wherever it was most advantageous.

Fenelon Falls’ hockey team had a great rover, Cecil Deyman, nicknamed “Dodger” for his ability to weave around other players. A great skater, he would go on to play professionally for the Guelph Royals. Backstopped by goaltender Alvin Gould, at the turn of the century, the team won the Ontario championship four times (1896-7, 1897-8, 1898-9, and 1899-1900) and the Stratton Cup three times 1901, 1902 and 1905. The Stratton Cup was first awarded in 1900. In 1902, the team travelled to Norwood, where they won 9 goals to 7, successfully defending their Stratton Cup Championship.

When Fenelon Falls residents heard that their hockey team was once again Stratton Cup Champions, they planned “a right royal reception.” A crowd assembled at the train station “to do them honour,” had a carriage waiting for them, then Fenelon Falls’ band played for a procession across town to Dickson’s Hall [now Immanuel Baptist Church], where they were feted by prominent local citizens. This original photograph captures a banquet held at Northey’s Restaurant to celebrate the 1905 Championship.

For generations Northey’s Restaurant was a favourite place for Fenelon Falls residents to visit. Washington Northey served sodas and made ice cream. Before the advent of electric refrigeration, ice cream was handmade in small batches and was a very special treat. In 1904 he advertised oysters, cigars “and every kind of fresh fruit in season.” After his professional hockey career ended, Dodger Deyman worked for years at his family’s business that was located across Colborne Street. As was common in that era, this furniture maker could make caskets, hence served as the village’s undertaker. In 1948, the Fenelon Theatre opened beside Deyman’s Furniture and Undertaking, and many local residents would gather at Northey’s Restaurant before or after the show. It subsequently became Reid’s Variety Store and then J’n B’s. Today it is BES 57, a fashion boutique founded by sisters Emily and Grace Forbes in 2024. Through this business they share their passion for fashion, “bringing you fashion-forward pieces you won’t find anywhere else.”

Northey’s Restaurant, Reid’s Variety and J’n B’s

For generations, the Northey family owned a restaurant at 65 Colborne Street—it was in operation by 1887. Initially run by brothers Washington and Alfred with some help from their father Thomas, it included a large dining hall that could be used for community events. For a period in the late nineteenth century, it was the only restaurant in the village. By 1904, Washington could advertise having a restaurant and ice cream parlour that even served sodas. It offered oysters, cigars and “every kind of fresh fruit in season.” For ordinary families of this period, these were luxuries that they could seldom afford. But it was representative of the opulence and conspicuous consumption of the Victorian era.

Washington’s homemade ice cream was a very special treat for the time, and many local residents would long remember him for it. After he passed away in 1924, his son Alexander Washington “Alec” carried on the business. On Saturday night, it was customary for farmers to come to Fenelon Falls and stores stayed open late. Northey’s was a favourite place to visit, and Freda Bulmer (Kelly) worked there when she was 12, in 1934, with shifts from 6 to 12 pm on Saturday. She was paid 75 cents for her evening’s work. After the Fenelon Theatre opened across the street in 1948, many viewers would enjoy soda, candy or ice cream at Northey’s before or after the show.

In 1962, Alec sold the business to Bob and Lorraine Reid, who operated it as Reid’s Variety. Ten years later, Judy and Bob Adamson bought the business, renaming it J’n B’s Variety. They oversaw it for 25 years and it remained a popular place to visit. They sold the business in 1997 to Denise and Michelle Norris. It was later Newton’s Electrical, Plumbing, Heating and Cooling and today is BES fifty seven.

East Side of Colborne Street, circa 1970

The east side of Colborne Street is much changed since 1970. The sidewalks are now wider, incorporating gardens, trees and decorative pavers. Angle parking and parking meters are now distant memories—today there are fewer parallel parking spots. The businesses have also turned over. Jerry Armstrong then Jerry Emmons operated a Ford Dealership, Garage and Esso Station (now Highlands Propane). To the south, Pro Hardware was located beside Van’s Groceteria (Kawartha North Family Health Team). Coburn’s Drug Store (Rustic Cannabis) and the Fenelon Discount are visible in the distance in the original image.

Colborne Street looking South

Many of the old brick buildings on Fenelon Falls’ main street are still standing, though many of their facades have been either painted or clad in metal over the years. At the far (south) end of the street, the third storey of the former McArthur House (now Subway) had to be taken down. The old grist mill (Rosedale Furniture) burned in 1970, becoming yet another landmark to be consumed by flames. The Post Office has been reincarnated as CIBC. Fenelon Falls no longer has angle parking, but now has stoplights. The recent reconstruction of the main street has recreated a place for banners to hang, not far from where the tourist information banner hung when the original photograph was taken.

Baptist Church

The Baptist Church continues to be a guiding light for local believers.

St. James Anglican Church

The original Anglican Church opened on May 6, 1838, and the village’s first resident minister, Rev. Thomas Fidler arrived the next year, but tragically drowned when he was swept over the falls. Prominently located on the church hill, the log building burned in 1850, and was replaced two years later by a larger frame building, which served to the end of the century. The cornerstone of the third church was laid in 1902 at the foot of the hill on Bond Street. This original photograph was taken shortly after it opened. Today, the church hall stands on the west side of the brick church.

Moving Day

Pollard the Mover hauls the drive shed from Fenelon Falls United Church to the funeral home, circa 1968. That’s Henry Purdy Riding on Top, while Frank Johnston and Dr. Bill Graham walk up the sidewalk beside it. Behind the shed in the original picture, the belfry still stands on the former Fenelon Falls Public School. By the time the picture was taken, about 15 years had passed since the new (now demolished) public school had opened. Just imagine what would happen today if you were caught standing on top of a shed, driving up the main street!

Wychwood Lodge, 1969

For many years, Wychwood Lodge’s fireplace was a landmark on the Fenelon River, marking the entrance to Fenelon Falls from Sturgeon Lake. The sandy beach was one of the main attractions of the lodge, where many visitors would come to stay in cabins. In its early years, many of the guests came for fishing and swimming. More recently, Wychwood Lodge’s boathouse and snack bar has become its most recognizable waterfront feature.

Alpine Inn to Cliffside Villa

Situated on the site of the former Alpine Inn, Cliffside Villa provides low cost housing, while the tip of the Fenelon Island remains a popular public park, though no longer one where cars can drive down to water’s edge. The Fenelon Falls power plant and municipal buildings have been superseded with a more compact plant that is closer to the falls and greenspace.

Bird's Eye View of Gorge

The Fenelon Gorge, carved by the meltwaters from Glacial Great Lake Algonquin near the end of the last ice age, has long been a local landmark. Since time immemorial, the cliffs have been home to spindly cedar trees, while the built landscape nearby has changed substantially over the years. The agricultural landscape that surrounded the Fenelon Gorge in 1900 has largely regenerated as forest, interspersed with urban development. Today, Cliffside Villa stands prominently above the Fenelon River.

Fire at the Inn on the Cliff

By the 1850s, Fenelon Falls could be reached by steamship (occasionally at least), which in 1857 would connect via railway to the cities on Lake Ontario—making long distance travel to the village much easier than in the age of canoes and rough colonial roads. These improvements meant that Fenelon Falls could be reached in a few hours from Lindsay, a trip that might have taken a day a few years earlier. Nevertheless, when travellers reached Fenelon Falls, they needed a place to stay. In 1854, William Martin opened the Clifton House on the cliffs overlooking Fenelon Falls from the north shore. It was common to build hotels in conspicuous locations, close to transportation routes—and this location met both criteria, being directly above the village’s lower wharf, while affording a great view of one of the most striking natural features in the province. It had 24 guest rooms, plus sitting rooms and a bar—where the Fenelon Falls Gazette was founded in 1873.

In 1870, R.C. Smith’s lumber company took over management of the site, using it to house their workers. As it was no longer necessary to attract tourists, its condition was allowed to deteriorate and by 1900 it stood vacant. By then, R.C. Smith had passed away, and his sawmill had burned. In the half century that had passed, Fenelon Falls had come to be served by railways and much more reliable steamship service, and was part of the newly christened Kawartha Lakes tourist region. In the late Victorian era, many more visitors came to Fenelon Falls.

Beginning in 1902, the old Clifton House was completely renovated, adding beautiful new verandahs and running water—which was a novelty in that era! The interior was updated with new doors, sash and staircases from the village’s Sandford Furniture Factory. Renamed Hotel Kawartha, it became the landmark and destination that the building had been originally intended to be. In the 1930s, it was renamed the Alpine Inn, then the Anchorage House in the 1960s. By then, fewer visitors came to stay in hotels, as ever more families built their own cottages. Kathie and Sandie Pavelek bought the property once again renamed it the Inn on the Cliff—though most locals continued to call it the Alpine Inn.

About 5 pm on February 19, 1970, a fire started in the basement of the historic hotel, and the Fenelon Falls Fire Department rushed to the scene. Though the village had recently acquired a back-up pumper, it was soon realized that the community’s two local fire engines had little hope of extinguishing the blaze, so they called Lindsay, Bobcaygeon and Little Britain for help. On that bitterly cold night, the flames lit up the sky, as a large crowd gathered and residents feared that the blaze would spread to neighbouring buildings. It would be a very memorable night for the firefighters, who were soaking wet and freezing. John Bailey recalled, ““It was cold! You could take your coat off and stand it up on the corner, it was so stiff.”

Around 9:30 pm, part of the north east section of the roof collapsed, and five firemen standing on a lower portion of the north roof suddenly had to jump off to escape. Two sustained minor injuries—a cut lip and a cut forehead. As the firefighters were doing their best, the neighbours did what they could to help too, bringing sandwiches and coffee. It proved to be a stubborn blaze, because the building was made of stacked lumber. Though it seemed that the fire was extinguished that night, neighbour Dave Kish recalls that for a few days afterwards it kept reigniting. When the smoke finally cleared, the building was beyond repair. The Paveleks had invested a lot of time and money refitting the building, but it could not be saved. Instead, the property was redeveloped as Cliffside Villa, which opened in 1977.

Public School Becomes Sugarbush Villa

In 2000 the Fenelon Falls Public School was demolished, making way for Sugarbush Villa Adult Lifestyle Community.

Robin & Batman in the Fenelon Fair Parade, 1966

The Fenelon Fair is one of the community’s oldest events, founded in 1867 in Glenarm. In the nineteenth century, fairs truly were exhibitions, opportunities to learn better practices relating quilting, fancy work, animal husbandry and field crops. In an era long before radio, let alone television or the internet, they were an opportunity to see other people’s ideas in practice and learn the practical skills on which everyone’s prosperity rested.
Fairs have always combined a degree of crowd-pleasing entertainment with the serious purpose of improving agricultural practice. Though the exhibits have endured, their meaning has changed over the years. For many participants, it is a chance to share hobbies, rather than an opportunity to learn how to better make a living.
At the time this original photograph was taken in 1966, the original ABC Batman, starring Adam West and Burt Ward was a new show—as was colour television for many families. Fenelon Station appears in the background, and was then a stop for freight, as passenger service had been discontinued.
Since then, a lot has changed. The railway is becoming a distant memory, as the old route is now the Victoria Rail Trail. The station was repurposed as the Chamber of Commerce, later the Station Gallery. Whereas fairs were once scheduled after the harvest, so families could exhibit their farm produce, today the Fenelon Fair is in the middle of haying season—generations ago, farmers could never have taken the time during this busy month. Today, the main attraction is the demolition derby, which would have been controversial generations ago. At one point, the Fenelon Fair was held on Colborne Street. Just imagine the ruckus it would cause today if the main street was closed in summer for a fair parade!

From the South

Since the 1960s, Canadian Tire and Home Hardware have moved to the south end of Lindsay Street, while there is no longer a farm equipment dealership in town.

Ormell Sand & Gravel and W.G. Jackett & Sons Construction

For decades, a large proportion of Fenelon Falls’ aggregates have come from two neighbouring pits that extract from a sand hill located west of the village on Highway 35. Since Erick Watson took the original photograph on April 11, 1991, the pond has gotten larger and the hill has gotten smaller as countless tons of material have been used in construction projects throughout the region. Today, the terracing of Jackett’s hill is quite noticeable. In the 1940s, many local youth would travel to ‘Moonshine Mountain’ to look out over the surrounding countryside, and George Jackett continues to enjoy taking friends to appreciate the beautiful view from the top of the hill.

Allen Wood Products

In 1928, George Allen bought the Mickle & Dyment sawmill, located on the south shore of Cameron Lake in Fenelon Falls. Charles Mickle and Nathaniel Dyment’s lumber firm was among the most prominent in Ontario—based in Barrie, it had other mills at Gravenhurst and Severn Bridge. But by 1928, the era of log drives had come to an end, and the region’s economy was shifting from exporting lumber and tanbark to wooden manufacturing.

George Allen converted the sawmill into the Standard Pattern and Handle Company, which made a broad range of wooden products: Handles for axes, picks, shovels and various other tools; as well as patterns for industrial use; handles for appliances and cooking utensils; bread boards; rolling pins; utility boxes; teapot and percolator knobs and candle holders. After the Second World War broke out, the company shifted towards war production, including rifle butts and wooden doorknobs (a stopgap measure, to allow more brass to be used for shell casings). The factory burned in 1942, which was a shocking event for the community, being the largest local employer.

George rebuilt the factory as Allen Wood Products, which soon came to specialize in manufacturing wooden toys. Just as workers at the Standard Pattern and Handle Company had worked at lathes turning handles for appliances, at the new factory, they turned countless beads that were then assembled into toys. Just as they had made handles for utensils, patterns were produced time and again as toy handles. In the 1950s and 1960s, children across Canada grew up playing with toys from Allen Wood Products: bingo beds (AKA pounding benches), doll furniture, action figures, baseball bats, croquet, vehicles, and Allen’s Canadian Toy Builder, later renamed the Tinkertoy after acquiring a license from the A.G. Spalding.

By the mid-1960s, the market for toys was changing. Plastic toys and economical global shipping opened a whole new world of possibilities. Ever more children grew up playing with Lego, rather than Tinkertoys. Action figures and doll houses were made out of plastic. Toys manufactured overseas cost less than those from Canada, as it became ever harder to mass produce wooden toys in Canada for sale at a profit. ...

Swedfurn

Then one day in 1972, the bank manager showed up at the factory, and asked for the keys. As it suddenly closed, all the workers were out of a job. In 1975, it would reopen as Swedfurn, which made wooden furniture, marketed across Canada through retailers like Ikea, Idomo, Sears, Eaton’s and the Hudson Bay Company. The property has recently been redeveloped as the Fenelon Lakes Club condominium.

Years after the factory closed, Jim Mullen (second generation owner Jim Allen’s son-in-law) began collecting the toys that his wife’s family had once manufactured. He donated his collection to Maryboro Lodge Museum, which renewed interest in the toys that Allen Wood Products had made generations before. The toys inspired the development of many interactive children’s activities, that bring the village’s heritage to life and KidsFest.

Ice Cream by the Locks

Visitors can still enjoy ice cream from Slices in Scoops, as at the Fenelon Dairy in 1957

Fenelon Falls Secondary School

Fenelon Falls Secondary School has expanded towards Lindsay Street to create a new office.

English Class, 1970

The first floor classroom at Fenelon Falls Secondary School where Glen Godier snapped a photo of his English teacher Joe McGuire in 1970 is still recognizable. Joe would move on to a political career, serving on Lindsay Town Council beginning in 1974. Later he was elected in Emily Township, serving as its final reeve.

FFSS Library

When the new Fenelon Falls Secondary School opened in 1933 (superseding the old stone school which remains on site), it had a small library located on the second floor at the front of the building, accessed up a short flight of stairs that doubled as the school board room. In that era, the school was operated by Fenelon Falls trustees on behalf of the community—schools had not yet been consolidated into the Victoria County School Board, let alone Trillium Lakelands. More recently, the original library has served as the math office.

In the early 1950s, with the creation of a county school board, individual village continuation schools were consolidated into two high schools: Lindsay Collegiate Institute (later LCVI) and Fenelon Falls High School (later Secondary School). As students from the north half of Victoria County were concentrated into one school it had to expand as enrolment would soon reach 600 students. In 1956, a new library was added, along with two science labs, two classrooms, a second shop and a staff room.

At the time that Glen Godier took this picture of FFSS’s library in March 1970, it was located on the second story at the back of the school (North Street side). Irene Munnings was the school librarian. In the decades that followed, Fenelon Falls Secondary School continued to expand into the 1990s, when its student population peaked. The school’s footprint expanded again in the early 1990s. In recent decades, the school library has been on the second floor, just around the corner from its original 1933 location.

Larry Skitch Addresses Students in the FFSS Gym, March 1970

Larry Skitch was a memorable physical education teacher and administrator at Fenelon Falls Secondary School for many years. He was working at the school in the 1950s, when this gymnasium was built—which was shortly after the Continuation Schools of northern Victoria County amalgamated into Fenelon Falls High School (later FFSS). Indoor physical education then became a regular part of the curriculum. Many students enjoyed playing on sports teams. Previous generations (both boys and girls) would have instead learned track and field events and become cadets, practicing their marching on the main street of town.

Hello From Fenelon Falls Secondary School, May 1970

Nowadays, no one would stick their head out the window on the front of Fenelon Falls Secondary School to pose for a picture—rather the windows have been changed, with much of the school’s façade. Little remains of the exterior of the original brick Fenelon Falls Continuation School which opened in 1933—other than the engraved stone, marking the construction date. In 1970, when Glen Godier took this photograph, the old school was still recognizable, but more recent additions of a new office and guidance rooms, along with a new exterior façade have given it a much more modern, and complicated appearance. Inside, the old classrooms of the math hall are still the original rooms of Fenelon Falls Continuation School.

Fenelon Falls Continuation School Cadets on Colborne Street

As Canada mobilized for the Great War, young men were expected to serve their country—those who did not enlist could expect to be asked: Why not? This social expectation was reflected in schools, as every student was required to become a cadet. For many years, all boys and girls would be cadets, and practiced marching on the streets of town.

Just like in the military, the students were organized into platoons, each of which had a lieutenant and a sergeant. Day after day, they would practice their marching to prepare for inspection, when the students would show their discipline as they marched and stood together as one, just as in the military. They marched and they marched and they marched—day after day. No coats allowed in winter, and wearing their full uniforms on a hot sunny day. They were learning to have the strength and resilience of good soldiers.

For many years boys were expected to carry rifles as their marched. They would also learn marksmanship, as they practiced their shooting—often at Hartley Graham’s gravel pit. There were not always teachers present as the boys learned how to shoot. Many of the cadets were already proficient with arms, having grown up on a farm, where they were needed to help control predators. The rifle team went to compete at Camp Borden and Jordan, near Niagara Falls. But imagine what the school board would say today about giving the students guns and live ammunition without teacher supervision! They knew they had to be responsible.

This photograph reflects what a different place Fenelon Falls was in interwar years. How would motorists feel about having the cadets march and stand for inspection on the main street today? At the time, it was common to hold special events and celebrations on Colborne Street—the cadet inspection would be an important event for the town. In the background is Deyman’s Furniture and Undertaking, which was one of the village’s longest running businesses. At the time, no one would have found it odd to buy furniture in the funeral parlour, because the Deyman family were the village’s joiners—they had the woodworking skills to make caskets and household furniture. To the right is Little’s Ford Dealership—the village’s first car retailer. On the other side of the main street the Robson Family sold tractors and farm implements. Imagine having multiple car dealers and implement shops on the main street of Fenelon Falls.

During the interwar years, the cadets faded away, only to be revived during the Second World War. Once again, some students had the experience of having family members serve overseas. Some had the dreaded experience of being called out of class—everyone knew the bad new they were receiving. Would anyone in class ever forget that memory? After the war, the cadets continued to be a mandatory part of the curriculum for boys and girls. Not everyone thought that all students should receive basic military training—but in that era, it was a difficult subject to broach. Science Teacher Bud McCardle was also a veteran and did not believe that it was appropriate that students were being pushed into it. He had the nerve to allow students to work with him on maintaining the school’s flower beds instead.

In the 1950s, the school and the village were changing rapidly. By then practically every family had a car and the main street was becoming a busy highway, especially in summer. Up to the mid twentieth century, villages had their own continuation school, but with the advent of bussing, the continuation schools of northern Victoria County were consolidated into Fenelon Falls Continuation School. Within a few years, the school had a gymnasium and it would not be long until the school’s cadet corps was disbanded. Instead of marching down Colborne Street in uniform with rifle, the next generation of kids could play basketball in the gym. The cadet program continues to this day separate from local secondary schools.

Female Cadets (L-R): Ruth Northey, Fern Watson, ?, ?, Edith Allen, ?, ?, ?, ?, Betty Rutherford, Jean Rutherford.

Regatta

In the early twentieth century, regattas were a popular attraction at local locks, attracting thousands of visitors.

Walsh's Carding Mill & Sandford Carriage Works

The original photograph, taken looking northwest from the Fenelon Falls bridge, shows William H. Walsh's Woollen Mills and (Frank) Sandford Carriage Works, with their water power. The two businessmen went together to construct the building in 1887 and used the same water power. In addition to the carding mill, Walsh branched out to sell dry goods (fabric, thread and clothing) in 1894. In 1915 he closed the carding mill, but carried on as a retailer. Sandford operated a planing mill and blacksmith shop, while manufacturing cutters, sleighs, wagons, buggies, ploughs and decorative mouldings.

Lyon's Garage

After Sandford Carriage Works closed, W.J. Flett transformed it into a garage. In 1945, the business passed to Aub Lyons, who operated a Dodge-Desoto Dealership. In the 1960s, it was demolished as the Trent-Severn Waterway transformed the island into greenspace.

Transfer Bus

At the start of the twentieth century, Fenelon Falls had a transfer bus, that took visitors from the wharves (located on the north side, just above and below the canal) to Jeremiah Twomey’s Mansion House. Today, the Mansion House is now the Cow and Sow, and buses are now motorized, but they lack the well ventilated carriage and equine aroma. Plus, it is no longer necessary to shovel up any mess afterwards!

The Sand Hill

The Sand Hill between Louisa and Dodd Streets has long been a local landmark. Visible across Cameron Lake, years ago local youth enjoyed sliding down its sandy slopes in summer and to this day families toboggan there in winter. Up to the 1980s, W.G. Jackett and Sons extracted aggregates from the site, but since then it has naturalized.

Napanee Paper Company

In 1884 the Napanee Mills Paper Company built a 150 x 50-foot mill on the shore of Cameron Lake, that was complete with a 90-foot tall smokestack, that soon became a local landmark. Managed by William Burgoyne, the mill produced half a rail car load of pulp per day, that was shipped to Newburgh, Ontario, where it was transformed into #2 and #3 white and coloured printing paper. When it first opened, the mill operated on the soda process. The wood was first cut up into small chips, then fed into a boiler containing lime and soda dissolved in hot water. The soda ash was imported from Liverpool, England, while the lime was made on site. After boiling at high pressure for about eight hours, it was passed into a revolving tank to separate the cellulose fibres and rinsed with water. Wastewater was then dumped back in the lake. The pulp was rolled into bales for shipment. With the soda process, only non-resinous woods could be used. Poplar and basswood were preferable because of their long fibres. Different species of wood produced paper that tended to colour differently as it aged—poplar was the best for retaining a white colour, while basswood tended to take on a reddish tinge. Many stacks of cordwood were burned to fuel the pulp mill, and the company sold the ashes to a Napanee man, who exported them to Florida as fertilizer.
After adding a 40 x 60-foot engine room in 1887, the mill converted to the sulphite process for the 1890 season and added a saw and shingle mill the following summer. By using sulphate of soda, resinous woods like pine could be processed too. However, it produced a stench which became a public issue. At times the company struggled to keep itself supplied with the chemicals needed to process the wood, and became insolvent in 1893. Four years later, the Standard Chemical Company of Toronto purchased the plant. Since then, the former mill site has been transformed into Garnet Graham Park.

Tourist Camp now Beach Park

For most of the twentieth century, much of what is today Garnet Graham Park was occupied by the Victoria Railway (CNR). The station was on the south side of the river (now the Station Gallery), so the train did not stop on the north shore of the Fenelon River, but there was a shelter for the bridge master, who had to swing the bridge to accommodate boats and trains. Sawdust Bottom (the end of Bond Street—so named because it was beside a former sawmill) and the canal were both popular swimming locations. Several hours frequently passed between trains, so many people walked along the rails and across the swing bridge. If a train came while kids were crossing the bridge, they would just jump into the river.

When automobiles began to appear in the area around 1910, many motorists enjoyed going for a drive, and it was fashionable to drive onto lawns and park to have a picnic or camp. In Fenelon Falls, many motorists crossed the tracks at the end of Francis Street to enjoy summer weather beside Cameron Lake. On the other side of the tracks, from 1913 until 1958, the Abbott Sisters operated Maryboro Lodge as a tourist lodge. Many visitors would sit on the verandah to enjoy tea. Guests could stay at Maryboro Lodge or a cabin, while many others tented beside the lake.

When automobiles first appeared they were a novelty, and people would be excited to see a car. By the second half of the twentieth century, practically everyone had a car, and if everyone was driving into the park it would kill the grass. It was no longer fashionable to sit around your car for a picnic. Barriers and bollards become common to stop cars from parking in the park. By the late 1970s, traffic was petering out on the railway, and in the 1990s it was repurposed as the Victoria Rail Trail. Maryboro Lodge became the community’s museum in 1963.

Into the early 2000s, the south end of Garnet Graham Park contained a railway berm, with chain link fence on either side. In 2009, Fenelon Falls’ Powerlinks committee redeveloped the park, making it open concept, with a swimming area and new pathways lined with pin oak trees. The Fenelon Falls Rotary Club added a splashpad in 2018. Today, the south end of Garnet Graham Park is a very busy place in summer and kids continue the age-old tradition of jumping off the train bridge.

Swimming in Fenelon Falls' Canal

In the early to mid twentieth century, Maryboro Lodge (now Museum) was a tourist lodge operated by the Abbott Sisters with the village’s tourist camp (now Garnet Graham Park) located on the opposite side of the railway tracks (now rail trail). In this era, not everyone had an automobile, but for those who did, it was fashionable to go on a drive to the park. Swimming was a popular activity, though bathing suits for men and women were wool and provided much more coverage than the designs that are popular today.

In towns all along the Trent-Severn Waterway, swimming in the locks was discouraged by Canal staff (though it was an activity that many youth nonetheless indulged in), but swimming in the canal was common. If a boat came along, bathers would just paddle out of the way. Visitors would sit on the docks and chat, go for a swim, launch a canoe or watch boats pass. ...

Swimming in Fenelon Falls' Canal 2

As the children of this era grew up, it became less socially acceptable for adults to swim in the canal. Fenelon Falls’ beach park moved north to the shore of Cameron Lake at the foot of Bond Street, which was lovingly called ‘Sawdust Bottom’—because bathers would literally be wading in submerged sawdust from a former sawmill. Over the years, the Rotary Club improved the park, bringing in sand for a beach. But adventurous local youth continue to jump off the train bridge, though the water is scarcely deep enough for boats to pass. Did you see that backflip?

Garnet Graham and Miss Fenelon Falls

Garnet Graham and Wendy pose with his plywood photo set, 1987 and Garnet's daughter Elizabeth (Graham) Korn, with a reproduction at KidsFest 2022

In the 1980s, it seemed that Garnet Graham found a way to touch the lives of practically everyone in town, with his yip sticks, countless other tricks, and by supporting just about every charitable cause in town.

Garnet was always looking for a way to make Fenelon Falls a better place, and one of his many creative ideas was to create a photo set in the beach park that today bears his name. He commissioned local sign painter John Lyon to do the artwork. Though the original Miss Fenelon Falls is starting to show its age, John created a second Miss Fenelon Falls, which makes an appearance at many museum events, including KidsFest.

Garnet Graham Demonstrates his Yip Sticks

Garnet Graham with his Yip Sticks in front of the Fenelon Lock in 1987 and Maryboro Lodge Museum volunteer Liz Pead demonstrating a Yip Stick in memory of Garnet, at closing night at the Grove Theatre, September 17, 2022.

Not only did Garnet Graham's Yip Sticks support countless community organizations, for a generation they were the most popular souvenir of the village. It was hard not to love Mr. Yip and his sidekick Bobby Beau—a magical dog that could add and climb trees! In 1986, Reeve Barclay Taylor decided to rename Fenelon Falls’ Beach Park in recognition of Garnet’s lifelong efforts to improve his community.

The Orange Parade on Colborne Street

Up to the mid twentieth century, the Orange Order was one of the most popular community organizations, and it seemed that everyone either was a member or knew someone who was. Many communities, including some crossroads hamlets had an Orange Lodge. The Order was named for the Protestant William of Orange, who defeated the deposed King James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, to secure the crown of England and Scotland, while ensuring the ascendancy of Protestantism. The organization was officially Protestant, and at times in Upper Canada, later Ontario, there was violent conflict between Protestants and Catholics. However, in some neighbourhoods the fact that (practically) everyone was Protestant might be taken for granted, and in practicality the Orange Lodge served as a community hall, with the Orange Order as a fraternal organization for community betterment.

The annual Orange Parade on the ‘Glorious’ 12th of July was the biggest event of the year for the Orange Order and often for the community hosting it. Often a community like Fenelon Falls would host the festivities for the surrounding region. A figure on a white horse to represent King William often headed the parade, followed by marching bands and groups carrying banners, wearing the regalia of the Orange Order, typically from many different communities. In Fenelon Falls, Charles Burgoyne was one of the gentlemen who played King William. It was not always easy to find a white horse, and many people appreciated the irony when rumours spread one year that it had to be borrowed from a Catholic.

In central Ontario, the northern lodges would often celebrate at a town on the Victoria Railway like Fenelon Falls, Kinmount or Haliburton. Lodges further south might parade in Lindsay, Peterborough, Port Hope or Cobourg. It was common for the crowds to number more than 10,000 people. Sometimes there were so many visitors looking to ride the rails to the parade that two trips were scheduled. Residents of communities like Bobcaygeon, that were not located on the railway, travelled by steamship in the nineteenth century.

Lodges, bands and school groups put a lot of work into preparing for the parade, and visitors appreciated seeing these performances. But for many people attending, the highlight was seeing everyone come together to celebrate. Both men and women were typically well dressed for the event. In the era before automobiles, it would be a rare chance to see old friends who lived at a distance. It was often a busy day for main street shops, as people would congregate in their favourite store before or after the parade. By the time everyone headed home, some of the revellers might be a little tipsy from the beverages that were shared—even though many of the host communities were dry towns.

In the second half of the twentieth century, attendance at the Orange Lodge and the Orange Parades began to dwindle as fewer people attended church, let alone concerning themselves with the differences between Protestants and Catholics. Once practically every family had a car, they could drive to other communities to enjoy many new forms of recreation. Many Orange Halls were no longer used, as larger facilities with more amenities were constructed.

Santa Claus

By the late nineteenth century, it was common knowledge across the English-speaking world that Santa Claus or Father Christmas would come down the chimney after families went to bed on Christmas Eve to leave presents in stockings—as narrated in the popular 1823 poem A Visit from St. Nicholas (aka ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas). He had assumed his familiar appearance of jolly, plump old man, dressed in red, with white fur. In the early twentieth century, Santa Claus began to make public appearances, as in this original photograph from Fenelon Falls in 1916. But Santa was not able to be nearly as generous as he is today.

In the first half of the twentieth century, stockings typically were stockings, and did not have the exaggerated size of today. Until about the 1950s or 1960s, Santa Claus quite often brought very practical presents—like long underwear or a winter coat. If they were very fortunate, children might receive a toy, making for a truly memorable occasion. Over her childhood years, a young girl might just have one doll, that she would treat like her baby. A wooden truck was a common toy for a boy, as was a red wooden wagon—often made locally, or even at home from what was on hand. Kids could have hours of fun loading things into their wagon and dragging around the yard. A family might have one ball, which opened the possibility to play many different games. Old scraps of wood could be used as building blocks. Sometimes Santa Claus would bring an orange—traditionally St. Nicholas gave gold coins, and some families might have appreciated this symbolism. Other than the Christmas orange, most families had precious little fresh or citrus fruit in winter. Receiving a present or having a new toy really was special—there was not the excess of presents that there is today.

Christmas was a day that was about spending time with family. In the first half of the twentieth century, many of the rural churches were not open in winter, and it was a special occasion for farm families to go to town. Instead, many travelled to visit their relatives or neighbours to share a feast. Until the 1940s, when snowplowing became common, travel was by horse and sleigh, which meant that few travelled further than their neighbourhood. The meal had to be made from what was on hand—potatoes, carrots, turnips, onions and preserves. Sometimes mother might splurge to buy raisins. To mark the special occasion families might enjoy a goose or turkey. Spending time together and seeing relatives was what made the occasion memorable, more than presents.

After the Second World War everything changed. The Kawarthas were home to Allen Wood Products that manufactured many of the wooden toys that kids of the 1950s and 1960s grew up playing with—Tinkertoys, pounding benches, bead figures, baseball bats, croquet, wooden vehicles, doll furniture and many more. The Canada Crayon Company, later Crayola, fueled the imagination of crafty kids. By the 1960s, Santa paraded into town in a beautiful sleigh, the culmination of a lengthy parade. On Christmas Day, he often brought kids toys from these local companies, and Santa might bring more than one toy for each child.

In the 1970s, many kids grew up watching television, seeing advertisements for toys that their parents would never have dreamed about. Kids’ expectations became higher, and plastic toys made thousands of miles away replaced the wooden models that were once manufactured locally. Today, one kid might receive more toys at Christmas than an entire neighbourhood would have in the 1930s, when Santa Claus was kept busy helping children to have adequate winter clothing.

Santa Claus Parade

When Fenelon Falls hosted its first Santa Claus Parade in 1937, it created quite the sensation in the village. For kids growing up during the great depression, who typically had precious few toys (especially by today’s standards) and might not get a lot for Christmas, this celebration was unforgettable. It began with the village fire siren, then in keeping with the very Victorian, British sensibilities of the time, this parade featured Napoleon Bonaparte, Charles Dickens and the Duke of Wellington. Santa Claus’ sleigh was pulled by a yoke of oxen and he handed out candy and oranges. An orange was a traditional Christmas gift, and something truly special for many farm families who were used to subsisting largely on the fruits of their own labour. Having any fresh produce at all in winter was a memorable occasion. This Santa Claus parade was an event for the families of Fenelon Falls—350 children attended, which was practically every kid in town.

The inaugural Santa Claus parade was such a roaring success—who didn’t expect it to become an annual event? In an era when most people had little more than the bare necessities, a parade was something that the community could work together to create. Many people put a lot of effort into designing their floats and the entries were often quite creative: Humpty Dumpty sitting on a wall on top of a car (hoping he didn’t have a great fall!), the old woman who lived in a shoe, and typically marching bands. One year, Santa Claus stood on top of a cube van for the parade. Fenelon Falls did what they could, with what people had on hand.

In 1999 the committee decided to try something new—a night time parade, which would allow floats to showcase beautiful Christmas lights. By then, generators and artificial lights were common, luxuries that practically no one would have had six decades earlier. The Santa Claus parade became Santa Day featured many activities like bouncy castles, dog sleds rides, wagon rides, Zoo to You, a petting zoo, face painting, J’s Magic, a stilt walker, and a living statue. For the tenth anniversary, fireworks were introduced, and visitors came to expect them every year. By then the many of the floats were hired, whereas originally, they all relied on local ingenuity. Santa Day needed enthusiastic fundraising.

Santa Day has grown into an event that draws a crowd from well beyond its home community. Today the visitors number in the thousands and line the main street on both sides of the bridge for the parade. Every year, there are many activities all around town. Santa Day is always the last Saturday in November.

Ice Floe Races in Fenelon Gorge

In the 1970s, several communities in the Kawartha Lakes region hosted a winter carnival that provided local residents the opportunity to get out, spend time with friends and neighbours, and enjoy something new. Fenelon Falls’ Chamber of Commerce organized that village’s winter carnival, which included: An ice sculpting contest, “you don’t have to go to Quebec to see Ice Sculpturing at its best;” a carnival Queen; Bingo; Parade; Ice Skiing (trying to move across the arena ice with boards attached to your feet); Hockey; Broomball; Snowmobiling; Bowling; Sleigh Rides; Figure Skating; Log Sawing; and the spectacle of the Rotary Club’s Christmas Tree burning event. Village residents would long remember Lloyd Kelly running around town (he had an amazing ability to run on his tip toes) collecting all the Christmas trees so they could be thrown into the inferno. Can you imagine how local residents and the municipality would react to that event today?!

The annual Christmas tree burning event was not the only public spectacle. The Chamber of Commerce organized a unique event, the ice floe race on the Fenelon River just below the falls on January 30, 1972. The Trident Underwater Club of Peterborough demonstrated the sport, while also diving under the ice, despite the frigid temperatures. A race followed, featuring familiar faces from the region. Freda Kelly shot a video of the event, preserving the memory for posterity.

Fenelon Falls’ winter carnival continued for several years, with Lloyd Kelly continuing to be one of the most memorable participants. “Cannonball Kelly” had a giant cardboard stick made from an appliance box, that he used as a broomball goalie—“there was no way they could ever score on him.” Lloyd would have a village park named his memory. The event died out, but was revived as the Fenelon Falls Old Fashioned Winter Games (1995-2004), which created many happy memories for local residents.

Fenelon Falls Old Fashioned Winter Games

In the 1970s Fenelon Falls hosted a winter carnival that featured many interactive activities—creative ways to spend time together, often improvised from what was on hand. Participants could race on a floating sheet of ice, play broom ball, dance, or take part in teams skiing on 2x4s on ice. One of the most memorable activities was bed races down the hill on Colborne Street towards the stoplights. One participant would ride on the bed, while their teammates ran as fast as they could downhill.

The Winter Carnival died out for many years, but then in 1995 a volunteer committee revived the event, bringing back several activities that had been popular in the 1970s, while adding many creative ideas of their own. The reincarnated event featured a chili cook off, a torch run and many church dinners—by attending enough of them you could eat your way to a medal! Once again, bed races were one of the popular annual attractions.

Looking at this photograph from 2002, much of what appears in this picture no longer exists. The Fenelon Theatre, which was for decades one of the village’s most visible landmarks was demolished in 2016. Before the building was knocked down, the theatre marquee was saved, and today the sight of Fenelon’s Theatre marquee welcomes boaters to the village at the canal and chamber of commerce. Taken shortly after amalgamation, in 2002 many people still thought of the geographical region as Victoria County, but today most people call it the Kawartha Lakes. Bert’s Appliances, a long-standing Fenelon Falls business, has been replaced with Highlands Propane, since taken over by Superior Propane.

The Fenelon Falls Old Fashioned Winter Games committee retired after their 10th event in 2004 and since then the world has changed so that many of these popular community activities could never happen today. Would the health unit ever allow people to have a contest where everyone samples batches of homemade chili to pick the best? Could organizers ever close the main street for bed races? Would a municipality ever permit an event where members of the public would run on asphalt, pushing home made bed vehicles? The winter games were a wonderful memory for everyone who took part, community experiences that may never happen again.

Tug-a-Truck at the Fenelon Falls Old Fashioned Winter Games, 1997

In 1997, Scotty McGhee organized a new activity at the Fenelon Falls Old Fashioned Winter Games called Tug-a-Truck. Teams of participants worked together to pull the village’s antique fire truck towards the canal on May Street. Volunteer Judi Adamson explains: “Most of the teams had a big person or two to help get it going. It took a lot to get the truck moving and there was lots of straining on their faces.” It was one of the many really unique experiences that made the winter games special.

Since this photograph was taken, the house facing May Street remains Jim Webster’s Law Office, while the other two buildings have been repurposed. The home on the corner of Market Street, for many years home to the Cunningham family, has become a restaurant: Nolan’s, Ziraldo’s and more recently the Wing House, before a fire broke out in the kitchen in late 2024. Across the road, the popular Chatterbox restaurant has more recently become High Supply, a cannabis shop.

Francis Street and the Liquor Store

For much of the twentieth century, Fenelon Falls was a dry town. Local residents looking to purchase alcohol had to travel to Coboconk or Lindsay until 1962, when council voted to allow a liquor and beer store. It was a big step for the community, and for some years afterwards there were residents who were not sure that it was a change for the better. Some observed people drinking on the streets or under the bridge and questioned if it was the right decision—but the majority accepted the new era that had come.

At the time that Glen Godier snapped this photograph of the Liquor Store around 1970, Jack Kennedy was the manager with Art Pogue as assistant. Wayne Hutchison had transferred from Lindsay a couple years earlier, and would go on to work there for 30 years, serving as manager from about 1982 until he retired in 1998. At the time, the minimum age to purchase liquor was 21, and each customer had to fill out a form when they came in, listing which products they wanted to purchase, the quantity and the price. The clerk would ring the order through, then bring the bottles to the counter.

In the late 1960s, the Liquor Store sold imported beer, for instance from Europe, but not Canadian—for domestic beer customers had to go to the Beer Store. London Sherry, at $1.50 a bottle, was a cheap liquor, while higher quality products like Ontario wines, Crown Royal and Royal Reserve were also popular. In 1970, many people would find it hard to believe that the day would come when not only would the liquor store become self-serve, but grocery stores would be selling alcohol too. Alcohol would not be allowed in Fenelon Falls restaurants until December 1977. As much as the Liquor Store has changed, so too has the appearance of Francis Street—as there are not nearly as many mature trees now as there were around 1970.

Fenelon Falls Post Office

In nineteenth century Ontario, a post office was among the first government institutions in any new settlement—many villages received their present name when they became a post office town. The Fenelon Falls Post Office was established on August 6, 1838, with James Wallis as the first postmaster—he owned the village in partnership with Robert Jameson and built Maryboro Lodge. When the post office was first created, it might take weeks, for letters or parcels to arrive, especially if they had to cross the Atlantic.

In 1844, William Powles became the first full-time postmaster of the village. At about the same time, the post office moved to Colborne Street, being located where the Trentside Baptist Church manse is now, later moving to the vicinity of present-day Red Apple. In 1852, weekly mail service was established with Lindsay and by 1865, it was forwarded to Fenelon Falls by "horseback, cutter, waggon, or sleigh, at the option of the contractor," being the contract postmaster. In this era, the post office also served as a rudimentary bank, keeping cash on hand, with authorization to pay or grant money orders. In 1916, the post office (Red Apple) burned, and moved across the street to the McArthur House. While the post office was in this location, post office boxes were introduced—Foster Kelly was P.O. Box 1, Fenelon Falls.

When Mel Sheehey started as a Fenelon Falls mail carrier in 1917 at age 22, he was delivering mail to about 250 households with a horse and buggy, or cutter in winter. In 1920, he upgraded to a Model-T Ford. In the nineteenth century, the post office was a significant local landmark, and by the first half of the twentieth century, a beautiful government building was often constructed—typically red brick—as a visible symbol of the community’s progress. In 1935, a public ceremony, complete with a band announced the laying of the cornerstone of the striking new post office at the corner of Francis Street and Colborne Street (now the CIBC). The new post office included a clock tower, making it one of the most conspicuous buildings in town.

As happened in many other settlements, the beautiful main street post office had shortcomings when it came to parking—both for postal staff and customers—as well as floorspace, prompting a move to a side street. The new structure was another well-built, red brick building, but it was not designed as the prominent public building to represent the community’s pride. As the post office moved to its new location in 1968, Mel Sheehey was still delivering rural mail. He would retire from Rural Route 2, Fenelon Falls after 62 years, which was said to be a record for rural delivery. Roy Jones, who started three years after him, would retire from Rural Route 1 after 59 years. Glen Godier, a Fenelon Falls Secondary School Student photographed the post office in December 1969—note how the trees have grown in the foreground, and the expansion of the library/municipal building in the background.

Flood on Francis Street

On June 25, 2000, a sudden downpour of 76 mm of rain caused the creek running through Fenelon Falls to rise over its banks. Winding through the woods at the corner of Albert and Princes Streets, before crossing John, Queen and Louisa, it inundated neighbouring properties. On Louisa Street, it ran over the bridge, as neighbours wondered whether the structure could withstand the deluge. The flood waters started creeping up the foundations of nearby houses, as firefighters did what they could to keep the water out of downtown stores—especially along Francis, May and Water Streets. Many villagers would long remember seeing Jim Webster and his son Cameron paddling down Francis Street. Joby Errington had the foresight to photograph the event for posterity, including this photograph of Shutterbug Photography. By evening the flood waters started to subside.

The building shown in this photograph was Tom Poulsom’s blacksmith shop in the early twentieth century, later becoming a motor cycle repair shop, as shoeing horses was replaced by motorized transportation. Maurice Lansfield purchased it circa 1949. After he died, his wife Ivy and daughter Patsy operated it as a laundromat and Pajo’s Boutique (later Shopper’s Emporium, operated by Grace Mantle and Shelley Given). In 1994, Fran Flaherty and Sandy Kerr opened Shutterbug photography in the centre unit. At various times, parts of this building were home to Dr. Martin Young’s office, Sneakers Etc., and Bowes & Cocks Real Estate Office. It was rebuilt in the mid-2010s.

Looking Over the Train Station

This original photograph was likely taken from Francis Sandford's furniture factory, which burned in 1906. Looking North up Lindsay Street, the train station is obscured by the building in the foreground, while a freight shed is visible on the opposite (west) side of the road. The stone public school stands at the upper left, while the two-storey Brooks Hotel is visible in the distance (later site of George Wilson's car dealership). Further up the street is the Stone Grist mill, while the Anglican Church stands on the hill at the far side of town (near right on the horizon). The Littleton House, located just north of the rail line on the west side of Lindsay Street, and is still in the family.

George McGee Hardware - Home Hardware

George McGee’s Hardware Store – Fenelon Falls Home Hardware

Pioneer settlements were fortunate to have a general store, then as the population expanded, so did its shopping opportunities. In the second half of the nineteenth century, Fenelon Falls began to have specialized stores, and hardware stores were among the first. Howard Heming’s hardware store was in operation by 1871—at the “Sign of the Big Cross-cut Saw.” Joseph Heard moved to Fenelon Falls in 1880, opening a stove and tin shop that expanded into a hardware store in 1883. The business would pass to his son, William John Heard.

George McGee was a carpenter in Fenelon Falls and became an agent for various building supply companies. Beginning in 1897, he went into the hardware business full-time, in a shop on the west side of Colborne Street (likely 17 Colborne Street), painting his storefront pea green. Harry Ackert from Ingersoll was his assistant, who could help with tinwork. At that time, many new (uninsulated) homes were being built in Fenelon Falls, which might contain multiple stoves. Wood (cook) stoves took up much of the floor space in his store, complemented by the (graniteware) pots, tea kettles, and bowls that were used to cook on them, along with the brushes and ash shovels to clean them.

In 1898, George installed acetylene lights in his store, but most of his customers were still using lanterns like those that lined his store. He sold paints and oils, and a variety of wallpaper—which was fashionable in that era. The hardware store carried dishes, including fancy glassware and silverware. He carried locks, handles and building hardware—there was nothing like the variety of building supplies that there are today. Most structures were built with hammer and nails. He sold Mellot cream separators and fencing to meet the needs of the many farmers who shopped in Fenelon Falls. He also sold fishing poles, tackle, guns and ammunition. Many visitors came to the region to hunt and fish, alongside the many local sportsmen. McGee also sold bicycles, which were a craze in the 1890s.

Around 1906, George McGee’s hardware store closed. Then in 1915, W.B. Brandon bought a former hardware business at 17 Colborne Street (likely McGee’s) which his family would operate for three generations. In 1921, it moved across the road to 36 Colborne Street. In 1964, son Fred Brandon joined the Home Hardware chain of stores. The location was convenient for downtown residents, but parking and retail space had become limiting. In 1989, it moved to a much larger new store at 140 Lindsay Street, at the south end of the village. Long-time employee Roger McInnis purchased the business from Fred’s daughter Katherine and her husband Fred Elder. It then passed to Dave and Nancy Jackett in 2013, who have continued to expand it, since acquiring Cornerstone Home Furnishings on the opposite side of town.

Home Hardware still sells many of the same types of products as George McGee’s Hardware store did more than a century ago—but today some of the departments are larger than the original hardware store was. The store reflects how much homes have changed over the past century. It has a much greater variety of fasteners, as there are now so many alternatives to hammer and nails. Instead of cooking on a woodstove, many local residents go there to buy electric appliances. In place of lanterns, it now stocks LED bulbs, headlamps and flashlights. It still sells a variety of woodstoves, stovepipes and even firewood, though today they are typically a secondary heat source, and not many people feed more than one stove daily. As indoor plumbing and home wiring became common in the mid twentieth century, there were initially specialized shops in town, but today these parts are a large part of the hardware store. Home Hardware still sells wallpaper, but the days when it would run an advertisement just for wallpaper are long gone. Instead, Beauti-tone paint can be mixed in store into over 1500 colours. For decades, if a colour was desired that was not on the shelf, painters would mix colours themselves. For everything that has changed since 1897, the hardware store still reflects Fenelon Falls’ homes.

Fenelon Landfill

When Glen Godier snapped this photograph of the signage at the Fenelon landfill in 1970, the facility expected that all waste be put over the tipping face. More recently, the facility uses wheel loaders to handle the material deposited, as safety and recycling standards have become stricter. For many years, some local residents would drive to the dump in the evening to watch bears. Today the entry signage at the dump focuses on bear safety.

Steam Shovel at Work

The immigrants coming Upper Canada (later Ontario) in the first half of the nineteenth century typically had few tools or equipment to work with. As they moved into a forested region, they had plenty of wood and precious little else to work with, so just about everything was made out of wood. As fields were cleared from the forests, often stumps remained for decades, making any digging difficult. For larger projects, such as the excavation of canals, holes were bored in rock by hand with drills, then filled with black powder—an extremely laborious task.

By the late nineteenth century, stumping machines had become available, making it practical to clear fields for plowing. In this era, steam machinery also began to appear. But owning a traction engine, steam mill or shovel was a considerable investment, beyond the means of most families. When available steam shovels could lift much more material than an ordinary shovel could—but they did not have the same ability to cut through soil and scoop up material that is taken for granted with modern hydraulic excavating equipment. They could be used to load a wagon, but then typically, the wagon would have to be unloaded by hand. For most families, to see a steam shovel in operation would have been a technological marvel.

Into the twentieth century, extracting aggregate for construction was very laborious—often done by hand from natural deposits. Labourers like Bobcaygeon’s Kerr family, and Fenelon Falls’ Jackett family would shovel material to load it. For years, Clayton and his son Burritt Kerr used a horse-drawn dump cart—which was much easier than using a wagon that would have to be unloaded by hand. Once trucks became available, Jacketts devised a way to load a truck with a horse pulling a plow. When large holes had to be dug, a way might be found to have a horse help by pulling a scoop. But to the mid twentieth century, many holes, such as graves were dug with a spade.

After the Second World War, tractors began to become common on farms. Most of the early models did not include a loader, but by the 1960s hydraulic loaders were becoming common. Early excavation equipment was often cable operated—a bucket could be manipulated with cables, but it was just dangling from the arm. As loaders were appearing on farm tractors, solid hydraulic excavating equipment became available for construction, making it far faster and more economical to excavate. Aggregates then became a common building material. Whereas the homes of the pioneer era sat on large stones, then those Victorian houses were built on fieldstone foundations, by the second half of the twentieth century, tonnes of aggregate went into the construction of new homes. As it became economical to excavate a dump truck load of gravel, huge quantities of material could be moved. Near Fenelon Falls today, rather than digging material from their fields, it is trucked from pits like W.G. Jackett and Sons and Fenelon Pit Stop (formerly Ormell Sand and Gravel). As the years passed, massive hills (eskers) have been extracted as aggregate, gradually becoming ponds, one truck load at a time.

From an Aeroplane, 1919

Much has changed since the Fenelon Falls' first aerial photograph was taken. The McArthur Hotel (Subway) is now a story shorter, the island has become greenspace, and the surrounding landscape has significantly regrown with trees.

An Aerial View of Fenelon Falls from the North, 1967

The buildings on the east side of Colborne Street have changed significantly since this aerial photograph was taken in 1967. In the original image, the Fenelon Theatre is obscured by the trees in the foreground and at the time it was one of the most popular outings for village residents. Once televisions became universal, it lost some of its lustre and was demolished in 2016. The Fenelon Theatre Marquee then became a landmark in front of the Chamber of Commerce.

The next building south was Armstrong’s Ford Dealership and Service Station. Subsequently operated as Emmons Motors, then Herrington’s Garage, it became Bert’s Appliances in 1986. Today it is Highlands (Superior) Propane.

At the time this photograph was taken, the IGA was operating out of a building beside Sider’s Jewellery. The IGA would subsequently expand to the north, as the adjacent building was demolished. After Mark Knoester purchased the business, it moved south of the bridge, becoming a Sobeys in 2002—on the former site of the village works yard, as seen in the original image.

In 1967, there were old power plants standing on either side of Fenelon Falls. The south plant had been built to supply the town of Lindsay, while the plant on the north side served the village of Fenelon Falls (obscured behind the fire tower). The four-storey stone grist mill stood on the north bank of the river beside the falls, and to its left the village’s municipal building, lock up, and firehall can be seen.

On the south bank, the Sunoco gas station has more recently become a UPI, Esso, then Pioneer, while Lyon’s Garage across the Helen Street is now Texas Burger. Handley Lumber has a new showroom, built after a 1992 Fire.

Fenelon River from Cameron Lake

The swing bridge completed in 1893 still marks the entrance to Fenelon Falls from Cameron Lake, shown here in a 1960s postcard and in 2021.

Fenelon River, 1991

If it looks like there is a lot of water passing over Fenelon Falls in the original photograph, it is because it was taken on April 11, 1991, during the Burnt River flood. One of the worst deluges on the river of the twentieth century, as this photograph was taken many homes and cottages near Burnt River Village were inundated. The Trent Severn Waterway was doing what it could to help, as can be seen by the tremendous flow over Fenelon Falls.

Since this original photograph was taken, the showroom at Handley Lumber (foreground) burned and was rebuilt, while the old mill across the laneway still stands. On the far (east) side of Lindsay Street, both Tim Hortons and Sobeys have since been constructed, becoming two of the busiest enterprises in town. At the far end of Colborne Street the Fenelon Theatre, a long-time local landmark has been demolished. The significant renovation of the Livery Stable into the Fenelon Falls Brewing Company can also be seen.

South Side of Fenelon Falls

When Erick Watson took the original photograph of Fenelon Falls on April 11, 1991, Langton Public School (right) was under construction and Fenelon Court was not yet begun. At that time, local students attended Fenelon Falls Public School, which stood where Sugarbush Villa is now, beside the United Church. Langton was a much larger school that its predecessor, serving a larger catchment area. The school opened on October 24, prompting the village to extend Wychwood Crescent past Ellice Street to facilitate traffic to the school and later the long-term care facility.

The old sawmill (bottom-centre) had been built by Henderson McIntyre. Originally operating on Helen Street, where the Fenelon Falls Secondary School Football field is, Henderson purchased the lot between Ellice Street and the railway in 1949, to build a new mill. With the help of his sons Lloyd and Ross, much of their operation consisted of custom sawing logs that farmers felled on their own property. Early on, Vic Arscott brought logs to their mill with a Model A truck. In 1969, Bill Shields and Hugh Cocker purchased the mill, renamed it Fenelon Lumber and it remained in business until 1979. It burned on May 5, 1992—the day after Handley Lumber’s showroom had gone up in smoke.

In 1991, Fenelon Falls’ Public Works Depot Shed (left) was located behind the Heritage House, which was then the Municipal Office (now RWH Construction). In 1993, a new municipal office opened beside the library on Market Street. The Public Works Depot moved to Wychwood Crescent, after the road was completed west of Ellice Street. In 2001-02, Fenelon Falls’ grocery store relocated south to the former Depot site, before rebranding as Sobeys.

The increase in forest cover is noticeable on both sides of the river around Fenelon Falls, accentuated by the fact that the original photograph was taken at higher altitude, before the leaves sprouted in the spring. In the three decades that have passed, the local economy has changed significantly as there are fewer farmers, and large-scale local lumber production is becoming an ever more distant memory. Rather than making a living off the land, ever more residents have come to the region to appreciate its natural beauty.

Fenelon Falls Aerial, 1972

There have been many changes in Fenelon Falls since this photograph was taken in 1972. In the foreground, Heritage House has become RWH Construction, while the adjacent parking lot now serves Sobeys. Lyons Motors has since become Texas Burger. The power plant on the south side of the falls was repurposed as the Fallsview Restaurant shortly after this picture was taken, and the gas station across the road has been reincarnated with different companies. The east end of the island now supports many more trees and gardens, while a new power plant was built beside the falls in the mid-1990s. The west end of the island has also regrown with trees and is no longer used for visitor parking to the degree it was when the original photograph was taken.

On Colborne Street, parallel parking has replaced the angle parking, allowing the street to be widened, then more recently narrowed to accommodate wider sidewalks. At the corner of Bond Street, the Fenelon Theatre was demolished, while further west the arena has also been razed into a vacant lot. On the corner of Water Street, the former Canadian Tire has been subdivided into several shops, including Subway. There is no longer parking across the street from Dick Bulmer’s Blacksmith shop (beside the canal—the building is now the Brewery. The kitty-corner lot has since been developed as the Chamber of Commerce. At the top left, the sand hill is no longer actively exploited.

Fenelon Falls Then & Now

The public face of Fenelon Falls was radically altered starting in 1961. The municipal buildings, power plant, grist mill and Lyon's Garage that had been the public face of the community for generations cleared to make way for a park alongside the Trent-Severn Waterway. The Original photo was taken in 1947.