Penetanguishene, one of the oldest settlements in Ontario, was a thriving town in the late 1800s and early 1900s, largely due to the lumber industry.
Churches, schools, mercantiles, banks and clothiers set up shop in the bustling downtown with houses were built near and far.
“In the late 1880s, Penetanguishene had five hotels. Now we have zero,” says Nicole Jackson, curator of the Penetanguishene Centennial Museum and Archives.
Jackson and summer student Rachel Whittington recently led a group of 12 on the summer's first Downtown Historical Walking Tour on May 30.
Two hotels were on the corner of Robert and Main streets. Where Flynn's Public House stands was the location of The Bayview House, a three-storey hotel with a popular dance and music hall on the third floor. After a 1918 fire that destroyed the building, it was rebuilt as a two-storey Bank of Toronto for many years.
Where the Circle K is now, was the site of the Globe Tavern, built in 1833.
When it burned down in 1874, it was rebuilt into the Georgian Bay Hotel, a three-storey hotel that included rooms on the top two floors. The main floor contained a tavern, bank, laundry, billiards and grocery stores. It burned down in 1921 and has been a gas station/convenience store ever since.
"I moved here from Toronto and I was curious about the history," says participant Julie Steinecke. "It's an interesting history. There were a lot of fires."
On the north east corner, where Arbour's Flower Shoppe is now, was the location of Gendron and Brothers Tanner, Boot and Shoe Shop, run by Michael Gendron.
The shop was on the first floor and the shoe making was done upstairs. The business became well known during the First World War because it was commissioned to make Gendron's shoepacks for soldiers. They were knee-high boots, like mukluks, with a hard but flexible leather sole that kept soldiers' feet dry in the trenches.
"They put Penetanguishene on the map," says Jackson.
The oldest house in Penetanguishene was built by George Gordon on Water Street in 1825.
“There are not a lot of homes of that age still standing. I’m going to boast that it’s the oldest in Simcoe County because I haven’t found anything earlier," says Jackson.
Gordon was born in 1778 in Montréal and joined the North West Company in 1807. He later operated as an independent voyageur and fought with the British in the War of 1812. After the war, he opened a fur trading business and built the house.
“They were one of the first pioneering families in the area,” Jackson says.
The Catholic family held church services in their home and were instrumental in building the first Roman Catholic church in 1882 on Robert Street, the year Penetanguishene officially became a town.
The first mayor of Penetanguishene was Alfred A. Thompson, who came to the area at the age of 17. His brother and his son later served as mayors as well. His Georgian-style home was built on Water Street in 1859. Thompson established the area known as The Green Block and his business was the leading fur trading establishment in the area, says Jackson.
“Annually over 2,000 First Nations people would converge on Penetanguishene with their fur laden canoes, ready to trade."
The mural on the building block wall facing Main Street was re-painted in 2021 picturing Thompson as a smaller version from the initial mural and the new mural features a woman and child, that were not part of the original.
There were several lumber business in Penetanguishene, the largest and most distinguished of which was the Beck Lumber Company, headed by Charles Beck.
Workers in the business made $1 a week for six, 10-hour days. They were paid 50 per cent in Canadian currency and 50 per cent Beck Bucks, which were metal token that could only be spend at Beck owned businesses on Main Street.
Beck grew his wealth by constructing three buildings, known as the Beck Block at 70, 72 and 74 Main St. in 1885, 10 years after establishing the sawmill. In one was a Beck dry goods store. He rented 72 to A. A. Thompson and in 1906 there was a Chinese laundry.
Participant Cony Calle moved to the area from Toronto, where she used to be a tour guide for the Latino community.
"I really feel that the past explains the present. We have to understand the past and present to see what the future is going to be," Calle says.
The next tours are scheduled for June 27 and July 5 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. There are also Rotary Champlain Wendat Walking Tours this summer. Cost is $7 per adult. Registration is required through the museum website: penetanguishene.ca/museum. The museum is located at 13 Burke St. Call 705-549-2150.
