In the early twentieth century, diplomatic relations between European states had been tense, two rival alliances coalesced and an arms race ensued.

Fenelon Falls was home to the best waterpower in the region, which had been harnessed since the village’s first days to power saw and grist mills.

The fire produced so much light that it could be seen 20 miles away, and W.T. Junkin recalled "you could see to read a newspaper on the Church Hill.

In the nineteenth century, most farmers relied on dug wells (which literally meant dug by hand!), while village residents often took their drinking water from the waterway.

By 1880, Fenelon Falls was finally starting to come together as a village, having been founded by land speculators Robert Jameson and James Wallis nearly 50 years earlier.

When the first European settlers migrated to the Kawarthas, the construction of the Trent-Severn Waterway almost immediately became the political issue that could move mountains.