KAWARTHA LAKES-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.
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: [email protected] or mail a cheque to :
Maryboro Lodge Museum
Box 179
50 Oak Street
Fenelon Falls, ON
K0M 1N0
