KAWARTHA LAKES-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.
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
