Fenelon Falls, Ontario
Encyclopedia
Fenelon Falls is a village in Ontario
, Canada
, part of the city of Kawartha Lakes
. Nicknamed the "Jewel of the Kawarthas," it has a population of 1,800 permanent inhabitants, which swells in the summer due to tourism
and cottaging
. Fenelon Falls is home to lock 34 on the Trent-Severn Waterway
between Sturgeon Lake
and Cameron Lake
. It is primarily a tourist town and therefore is most active during the summer season. The main street of Fenelon Falls is called Colborne Street.
The eponymous falls are hidden from plain view, because the main road crosses over the river just upstream; however, the falls are easily viewed from a nearby restaurant or from a path on the north band of the Fenelon River. The falls powers an hydro-electric dam, which diverts some of the falls' flow.
The village of Fenelon Falls was incorporated in 1874. In 1876, the Victoria Railway reached Fenelon Falls. This line was taken over by the Midland Railway of Canada circa 1880, then absorbed into the Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) in 1893. In 1885, construction of the lock between Cameron and Sturgeon lake began. In 1923, CN took over the former GTR, operating the line until the burning of McLaren's Creek bridge near Lindsay in 1980 cut off the north end of the Haliburton Subdivision. In 1983, the line was abandoned with the track being removed by 1984. The line eventually became a public multi-use trail.
The Fenelon Falls Museum, open seasonally from May through October, is housed in the 1837 squared-timber home of James Wallis.
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, part of the city of Kawartha Lakes
Kawartha Lakes, Ontario
The city of Kawartha Lakes is a unitary municipality in Central Ontario, Canada. Although called a city, Kawartha Lakes is the size of a typical Ontarian county and is mostly rural....
. Nicknamed the "Jewel of the Kawarthas," it has a population of 1,800 permanent inhabitants, which swells in the summer due to tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
and cottaging
Cottaging
Cottaging is a British gay slang term referring to anonymous sex between men in a public lavatory , or cruising for sexual partners with the intention of having sex elsewhere...
. Fenelon Falls is home to lock 34 on the Trent-Severn Waterway
Trent-Severn Waterway
The Trent–Severn Waterway is a Canadian canal system formerly used for industrial and transportation purposes and now for recreational and tourism purposes, connecting Lake Ontario at Trenton to the Georgian Bay portion of Lake Huron at Port Severn...
between Sturgeon Lake
Sturgeon Lake (Ontario)
Sturgeon Lake is a lake in the Kawartha Lakes region of Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Trent-Severn Waterway. The lake is Y shaped and has the communities of Fenelon Falls, Lindsay, Sturgeon Point and Bobcaygeon at the north-west, south, central and north-east points of the Y respectively...
and Cameron Lake
Cameron Lake (Ontario)
Cameron Lake, Ontario is one of the Kawartha Lakes and is a lake bordering the town of Fenelon Falls and is part of the Trent-Severn Waterway. The lake is some 6.7 kilometres long by 3.5 kilometres wide and is quite deep, reaching 15 metres in places...
. It is primarily a tourist town and therefore is most active during the summer season. The main street of Fenelon Falls is called Colborne Street.
The eponymous falls are hidden from plain view, because the main road crosses over the river just upstream; however, the falls are easily viewed from a nearby restaurant or from a path on the north band of the Fenelon River. The falls powers an hydro-electric dam, which diverts some of the falls' flow.
History
Fenelon Falls, originally named Cameron's Falls, was renamed after the township, which was named after François de Salignac de La Mothe-Fenelon (1641-1715, not to be confused with his more famous half-brother of the same name), who founded a mission on the Bay of Quinte.The village of Fenelon Falls was incorporated in 1874. In 1876, the Victoria Railway reached Fenelon Falls. This line was taken over by the Midland Railway of Canada circa 1880, then absorbed into the Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) in 1893. In 1885, construction of the lock between Cameron and Sturgeon lake began. In 1923, CN took over the former GTR, operating the line until the burning of McLaren's Creek bridge near Lindsay in 1980 cut off the north end of the Haliburton Subdivision. In 1983, the line was abandoned with the track being removed by 1984. The line eventually became a public multi-use trail.
The Fenelon Falls Museum, open seasonally from May through October, is housed in the 1837 squared-timber home of James Wallis.
Education
- Fenelon Falls Secondary SchoolFenelon Falls Secondary SchoolFenelon Falls Secondary School is a public high school located at 66 Lindsay Street in Fenelon Falls, Ontario, Canada. FFSS was founded in 1827. As of 2008, it has about 1000 students and near 90 teachers and support staff...
- Langton Public School
- Fenelon Adult Education and Training Centre
Media
- The Fenelon Falls GazetteFenelon Falls GazetteThe Fenelon Falls Gazette was the weekly community newspaper in Fenelon Falls, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1873 by E.D. Hand. Ownership changed hands many times over the years, until it was purchased along with then owner, Citizens Communication Group in 2000 by Metroland Publishing.The...
was the local newspaper, established in 1873 by E.D. Hand. It was last printed in December 2004. - The Central Ontario VisitorCentral Ontario VisitorThe Central Ontario Visitor was a weekly community newspaper in Bobcaygeon, Ontario, Canada, published in conjunction with the Bobcaygeon Independent and the Fenelon Falls Gazette...
(another local publication) was printed and released weekly with the Fenelon Falls Gazette between the months of May through October from 1985 to 1999. - In 2001, Fenelon Falls played host to an episode of the OLN reality television series Drifters: The Water Wars as they passed through the Trent-Severn WaterwayTrent-Severn WaterwayThe Trent–Severn Waterway is a Canadian canal system formerly used for industrial and transportation purposes and now for recreational and tourism purposes, connecting Lake Ontario at Trenton to the Georgian Bay portion of Lake Huron at Port Severn...
.
Events
- Fenelon Falls is home to a night-time Santa Claus Parade.
- Fenelon's Canada Day festivities and fireworks displays are held at Garnet Graham Park.
- Fenelon Falls hosted the annual Ride for Sight a number of years at the Fenelon Fair Grounds, the last being 1998.
- The Fenelon Agricultural Fair is held annually at the Fenelon Fair Grounds in mid-August, hosted by the Fenelon Falls Agricultural Society.
- The Fenelon Falls Agricultural Society also hosts other events at the fair grounds annually over the summer months, including a Car Show, Steam Show, Jamboree and Art Festival.