Fenelon Falls became a municipality to bring the railway to town. By the time the village was celebrating its 125th anniversary, the railway had become a recreational corridor.

Many nights over supper, Marg Allen would talk with her daughter Kathy Arscott about how nice it would be to write a history of the village of Fenelon Falls.

In July 1987, Fenelon Falls Reeve Barclay Taylor and the Chamber of Commerce arranged the Kawartha Challenge, a hot air balloon competition.

Garnet Graham had an energy and enthusiasm that few other Fenelon Falls residents could match. He was the town crier, he played Santa Claus, he was a very active Rotarian.

Being a railway hub would virtually guarantee some degree of community development, and several local settlements that were bypassed by the railway became ghost towns.

Before the advent of artificial Christmas Trees, by early January, most families were wondering what to do with their conifer shedding its needles.

Before the advent of artificial Christmas Trees, by early January, most families were wondering what to do with their conifer shedding its needles.

The island that had been created by the canal was home to a cabin rental business, a woodworking business, a garage, a power plant (Fenelon Falls then had one on each bank).

Organized before the advent of the automobile, most townships contained 10 to 15 school sections, so students would not have too far to walk.

In the 1960s, Fenelon Falls residents were very involved in their community. Many older residents could remember when Great Britain would make far reaching decisions on Canada’s behalf.

Byrnell Manor began as a farm operated by Richard Byrnell Sr. and his wife Sarah. Richard Jr. began building cottages on the waterfront that became the Grove.

By the 1960s, the shortcomings of the original Fenelon Falls locks, constructed in the 1880s, were apparent. Made of wood and stone, they required constant maintenance.

Up to the mid twentieth century, Fenelon Falls was home to many general stores, which sold various food products and were typically independent, owned by a single family.

In the 1950s and 1960s, a night out at the Fenelon Theatre was much anticipated event for local families. It often involved stopping in for a treat at Northey’s Restaurant (later J’n B’s).

The kiddies turned out en-mass—more than three hundred and fifty of them and the grown ups forgot their duties and enjoyed themselves as much as the young folk.

Dick Bulmer’s blacksmith shop was not just a place to get something fixed, it was one of Fenelon Falls’ most unforgettable social venues.

By the late nineteenth century these two modes of transportation made it practical to import and export even bulky commodities, while allowing the region to become a tourist destination.

In 1928, George Allen moved to Fenelon Falls, just as the last log drives made their way down the Trent Waterway and he purchased the old Mickle & Dyment sawmill.

In 1929 the Fenelon Falls Board of Trade planned a spectacular public event that they hoped would help put their community on the map as a tourist destination.

The Village of Fenelon Falls was incorporated in 1874, and after the railroad reached the community in 1876, federal lock construction took place between 1882 and 1887.