Fenelon Station Gallery
In 1874, Fenelon Falls incorporated as a village so it could approve a subsidy to bring the railway to town. By the summer of 1876, tracks connected Lindsay to Fenelon Falls and a station was complete by September, with Thomas Lockhart as the first station master. Unfortunately, this first Fenelon Falls station was short lived, burning on January 29, 1880.
After some debate about whether a new location should be chosen, work began on a new station, which was close to the original site, in 1882. The Fenelon Falls Gazette observed two shortcomings with the design, it was “so close to Lindsay St. that the train will, when brought to a standstill, extend right across the street; and secondly, the station itself, which only measures 19 by 41 feet on the outside, is far too small for a place of so much importance.” This station was divided into a ticket office, two waiting rooms and a freight room. The freight room “will be insufficient to give the accommodation required.” This station was finished with wood, “the inside being lined with narrow boards, tongued, grooved and dressed, and the outside covered with planed lumber battened with ogee strips. There are ten windows, with rounded tops, three doors opening from the platform (which is 100 feet long, by 12 and half feet wide) and the ceiling is twelve feet high. In front the roof projects about seven feet over the platform, and is supported by ornamental brackets. Externally the station will be coated in the usual brick coloured, fire-proof paint, and inside will be painted a light drab. The walls of the various apartments will have neat base-boards along the bottoms and tasty mouldings at the tops; and the building, in short, will be all that could be desired if it were a few feet longer. The head carpenter is Mr. J.L. Hughes, of Peterborough, from which town all the materials were brought.” Samuel Wright served as station master until he moved to Stirling in 1886. His replacement, Andrew “Andy” Sutherland served for many years and was much appreciated by village residents.
When the Victoria Railway was built in the 1870s, the iron horse was the fastest and most economical mode of long-distance transportation, and local commerce developed to take advantage of the railway. John H. Brandon (who owned a grocery business and grist mill in partnership with Findlay McDougall) built a grain storehouse right beside the station, which became the Co-op. It included a feed warehouse and chopping mill by 1938 (now FAILA). The Brooks Hotel was just down the street to accommodate visitors to the village (later George Wilson, now B. Armstrong Contracting). The railway also connected to the Red Mill (now Sobeys), allowing it to become the largest sawmill on the Upper Kawarthas, before burning in 1896.
The Victoria Railway amalgamated into the Midland Railway in 1882, then the Grand Trunk Railway two years later. After this company went bankrupt, it was nationalized and became part of the Canadian National Railways in 1923. This company would operate the former Victoria Railway until 1978. After the last recreational trip up the line in 1981, many people wondered what would happen to it and the associated buildings. Around 1983 the rails were taken up and the Village of Fenelon Falls purchased the old station. It served as the Chamber of Commerce and was substantially renovated in 1988, including the installation of a cinder block foundation. In 1999 the Chamber of Commerce relocated to the intersection of May, Water and Oak Streets. In 2005, a local artists’ co-operative opened the Fenelon Station Gallery and gift shop. Since then, many local artists have exhibited their work there. In 2023, the building was once again refurbished, while retaining the historic appearance of a railway station. On July 14, 2024, the co-operative celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Victoria Railway and the latest rejuvenation of Fenelon Station.
