KAWARTHA LAKES-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.
This story is part of our partnership with Maryboro Lodge, The Fenelon Falls Museum.
This story is part of our partnership with Maryboro Lodge, The Fenelon Falls Museum and was written by Glenn Walker.
If you want to make a donation to the museum, you can e-transfer to:Â [email protected] or mail a cheque to :
Maryboro Lodge Museum
Box 179
50 Oak Street
Fenelon Falls, ON
K0M 1N0
