The Old Grist Mill Burned, 1970
Up to the mid twentieth century, Fenelon Falls’ waterfront was the industrial and commercial heart of the village. 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), the fire tower, jail, municipal building and the old grist mill. For motorists travelling either direction on the main street, or boaters plying the canal, the massive, four storey stone grist mill was perhaps the most conspicuous building in town.
Fenelon Falls’ great stone grist mill was not as prominent economically as it was visually. The village’s first grist mill was built by James Wallis, who owned the village along with his business partner Robert Jameson. Wallis ran into financial difficulties, and R.C. Smith of Port Hope eventually purchased his mills, along with other property. In 1875, Smith began construction of an adjacent four-storey stone grist mill, to supersede Wallis’ old two-storey mill, but like his predecessor also ran short of cash, causing the work to cease until 1881. It was restarted, but the old Wallis mill continued to operate until its southwest corner suddenly collapsed in 1883, followed by the rest of the building later that month. Litigation relating to Smith’s financial woes, meant that it was not completed in his lifetime. A syndicate (Austin, McDougall & Brandon) purchased in 1896—twenty-one years after construction began—and succeeded operating it until 1917, when it was gutted by fire. But the old stone walls stood firm.
The interior of the mill was rebuilt after the fire and was repurposed many times. Around the 1920s, it was used to make bathtubs of a quality “that left much to be desired.” It was also a leather goods plant, a chopping mill. In 1935, it became home to the Fenelon Falls Garment Company Limited, operated by Emanuele and Aino Restivo. After Emanuele died in 1945, it was purchased three years later by Jack Barrett and Rev. Gosnell, who turned it into the Botany Spinners. About 30 women worked on site, spinning imported wool into skeins of yarn, which were dyed in Lindsay and sold to knitting mills. In 1968, Rosedale Furniture purchased the factory and operated it until another fire in 1970.
For Fenelon Falls residents and firefighters alike, the blaze of April 28, 1970 was unforgettable—it was such a large building, in such a prominent location. For several hours, crews from Fenelon Falls, Lindsay, Little Britain and Bobcaygeon did everything they could to bring the fire under control, but it was a massive four storey building and there was only so much that their streams of water could do when combating such an inferno. By the time the flames were extinguished, the building was thoroughly gutted, but the old stone walls still stood.
For nearly two years after the inferno, the future of Fenelon Falls’ island was debated. The waterfront was owned by the Federal Government, and many of the buildings had been constructed on a lease. Parks Canada was interested in creating greenspace and had already forced the removal of the buildings on the opposite side of the main street—formerly Lyon’s Motors and Flett’s Cabins. In late winter 1972, “a one-ton ball at the end of a crane reduced the stone walls to a pile of rubble,” marking the end of an era in Fenelon Falls. It would not be long until Fenelon Falls’ island became greenspace, and the power plant on the opposite side of the river was reduced in height and reconstructed as a restaurant. Then all of the industry that had once surrounded the falls had ceased. Rosedale Furniture operated for many years on Murray Street (now the Salvation Army Thrift Store). Today, the island contains a new power plant, constructed in the late 1990s, a viewing platform for the falls and gardens lovingly maintained by Fenelon Falls’ horticultural society.
