KAWARTHA LAKES-On Friday, June 19, 2026, one of Fenelon Falls’ oldest businesses, the Bank of Montreal closed its doors for the final time.
For as long as anyone in the village has been alive, this business has been prominently situated on the corner beside the village’s original stoplights. Branch Manager Amanda Rodman posted a notice in the window that the building had closed. Not even the ATM would remain to serve customers in the community. As long-time clients came into the branch to close their accounts, they were told that the bank could not even perform that function, as service had moved to Bobcaygeon. Anne Gamsby, who worked for the bank for 41 years and was branch manager from 1999-2018 remarked “It’s a sad day for the village… for anyone who still does their banking at the branch.”
Branch staff explained that they received notice from head office that the branch would be closing, but the local employees were not given any explanation of the reasons why. “They decide what we are going to do and it is our job to implement it.” A retired bank employee noted, “Head office is ruthless when it comes to closing branches in small towns. It’s about cutting costs. Now you need to get good at online banking.”
Visiting the branch this afternoon, it was evident that the process of packing up the institution was already well underway. As 5:00 approached, Garda World was already waiting on site, to remove valuables from the bank. As the door closed for the last time, Signs Up took down the Bank of Montreal sign from the front of the building. As he was taking it down, Drew Taylor said, “I put up this sign and now I’m ripping it down to throw in the trash. He continued “I have been part of a lot of these memorable moments, I debranded many banks in small towns and the Peterborough Examiner.”
In September 1901, J.C. McKeggie & Co. set up a branch in the McArthur Block (now Subway) and may have been an agent for the Bank of British North America. In January 1903, the Bank of British North America bought out McKeggie, reopening the bank under its own name and would move to the northwest corner of Francis and Colborne Streets. The Bank of Montreal opened a competing institution at 30 Colborne Street (now the Loft Youth Centre and EarlyON) on the opposite side of the road. In 1918, the Bank of Montreal and Bank of British North America merged, as the institution occupied the corner lot. For many years, the building to the north was a butcher shop operated by Paul Ouelette, Bill Bothwick and Earl Vanatter, before being consolidated into the Bank of Montreal.
At the turn of the century, many people did not have a bank account. Before the advent of deposit insurance, when customers made a deposit in a bank, they were assuming the risk that if the bank failed, they would lose their investment. For instance, when the Home Bank folded in 1923, many Coboconk residents lost their life savings. To reassure their customers, banks advertised how much capital they had. Many transactions in that era were barter—merchants kept account books and farm families often paid off their debts with produce.
For much of the twentieth century, banks kept their accounts on paper, and cash or cheques were the common currencies. Banks often had a significant amount of cash on hand, and to protect against robberies, the teller sat locked in a teller cage. In the second half of the twentieth century, computerized records allowed banks to centralize the management of accounts, instead of keeping accounts on paper by hand. In the late 1980s, automated teller machines became common allowing customers to access their cash on the go. By then, many families had a credit card, reducing the need for paper currency—and the amount of cash that banks had to keep on hand. Since 2010, online banking has increasingly become the norm, as ever fewer customers pay with cash and cheques. According to the Canadian Banker’s Association, over 90% of all transactions are now online.
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
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