Souvenir of Fenelon Falls
February 24, 2022
In the first years of the twentieth century, the Kawartha Lakes had just been branded as a tourist destination, and R.J. Moore, the publisher of Fenelon Falls Star (a newspaper that did not last nearly as long as the competing Gazette) produced a beautiful booklet illustrating the village’s many attractions. At the time it was a wonderful guide for tourists to know what there was in town in those days, and to this day it remains one of the best sources for what Fenelon Falls looked like in that time period.
St. James Anglican Church had just been built, while it was then the Methodist, not the United Church near the north end of Colborne Street. The Bank of British North America stood at the corner of Francis and Colborne Streets (now BMO). Visitors to the village typically travelled by train, steamer or horse, the automobile was not yet common. There were three fine hotels near the lock: The McArthur House (now Subway), Mansion House (Cow & Sow) and Hotel Kawartha (burned, site of Cliffside Villa). Oak Street, then as now was site of the ancient oak grove and some of the nicest homes in town.
Check out R.J. Moore’s Souvenir of Fenelon Falls:
