Fenelon Falls Post Office – CIBC

Oct 2

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries public buildings were important symbols in Ontario. Generations of immigrants had moved to the region to chop farms from the forests or help establish new services in towns. Many worked their whole lives just to afford and build a home they could give to their children. Progress was a very important social value, reflected in the beautiful brick Victorian homes and main streets. To have a striking public building was a source of pride for a community. For many small towns, the post office was among the first and most recognizable public institutions.

A new settlement’s first post office was often located in a home or business. James Wallis, who owned the village in partnership with Robert Jameson, became the first postmaster in 1838, with a contract to carry the mail from Manilla to Fenelon Falls. In 1852, a weekly postal route with Lindsay was established. The first building to be a dedicated post office was located where the Fellowship Baptist parsonage is today. Later it was on the east side of Colborne Street, near the present site of Red Apple. When this building burned in 1916, services moved to the McArthur House (now Subway). This was the first post office to have postal boxes, and local businessman Foster Kelly received Box #1.

After much lobbying, Fenelon Falls managed to persuade the Dominion Government to include their building in the federal building plans. In 1935, the cornerstone of the new post office was laid—right at the intersection of Colborne and Francis Streets. It was a memorable moment for the village, complete with speeches, and a parade including the Salvation Army Band. At that time, the community reflected on how their Dominion had become practically independent with the Statute of Westminster, passed just four years earlier, and the sacrifices of the Great War, which had led to Canada’s greater autonomy. The post office would symbolize the Canadian nation in Fenelon Falls. Once again, a large crowd assembled to witness the official opening in 1936. To erect this monumental federal building, the village’s bandstand had to be moved to the market square (now the site of the cenotaph).

*Laying Cornerstone of FF Post Office, CIBC, 1935*

Though beautiful and symbolic, as the years passed, the building came to have drawbacks—notably parking for customers and delivery vehicles. A generation later, a new post office would be constructed on Market Street, which was smaller, less conspicuous, but more functional in terms of delivering letters and parcels. At the time, some village residents were opposed to the move to a new location. The opening of the second post office was not accompanied by anything like fanfare of the 1930s. This second post office continues to serve Fenelon Falls, while the 1936 post office lives on as the CIBC.