Minden Gets Power for Christmas, 1935

The Great Depression was a very difficult time for many families. In the Kawartha-Haliburton as elsewhere, many people were out of work and communities were looking for ways to ensure that there was gainful employment for people. The 1930s brought many lasting changes. For Minden, these included Highway 35 and the advent of electricity. Many locals worked on these projects.

Workman’s Falls was an excellent water power located just upstream from Minden on the Gull River, known as Stinson’s Mills. By the early twentieth century, the direct use of waterpower for milling was becoming obsolete, and former mill sites throughout the region were converting to hydro electric generation. Orillia’s municipal power company had built a power plant at Ragged Rapids in 1902, transmitting electricity 19 miles from the site of generation—which was unusual in that era. In 1917, this plant was decommissioned as Swift Rapids came online. Work began on a second generating station at Minden in 1934, employing men under the Unemployment Relief Work Act. It was practically complete by the following August, and connected to Orillia.

Though Orillia constructed the plant to meet demand at home, there was enough capacity to serve Minden too. Late in 1935, some local homes and businesses were wired in anticipation that the village would soon be connected. The question around town became, would power come in time for Christmas? December 21 was the big day as homes and businesses flipped the lights on for the first time. At the time, appliances were not common, so most customers initially just used electricity for lighting. Few who were wired would soon forget the Christmas when Minden got power. The Minden generating station continues to operate. With a head of 70 feet, its capacity is 4.4 MW.