Working with the Barrie Historical Archives, we are happy to present an ongoing series exploring the history of Barrie, famous landmarks, and lesser-known places that might not be around or have changed dramatically over the decades.
Allandale Station
Before Barrie became the bustling City (or even the busy little town) it is now, it began life with humble beginnings and Allandale Village would give it a run for its money thanks in no small part to Allandale Station.
Allandale Station began life before Barrie was even founded in 1853 when the Ontario, Simcoe, and Huron Union Railway built the station there, on a parcel of land that would become Allandale Village.
For two consecutive years starting in 1857, Barrie would try (and fail) to annex this important railway land from Allandale Village and Chief Engineer and General Manager at the time, Frederick William Cumberland, had plans to bypass Barrie going west and continue to build towards Collingwood. It wasn't until 1865 that the dam finally broke and Barrie would receive its own switch at Memorial Square called Station Gore.
Allandale Village would continue to grow into a buzzing railway town, adding new lines over the next several decades to Toronto, Muskoka, Hamilton, and more. In 1897, the town would finally become part of Barrie.
Nearly 100 years later, the station would briefly be used as a GO passenger facility from 1990 to 1993 before the Canadian National Railway lifted the rails between Allandale and Longford in 1996.
The station is currently a federally designated heritage railway station protected by the Heritage Railway Stations Protection Act.
If you want to learn more about The West Ward School/Prince of Wales Public School and all of Barrie’s history, head over to the Barrie Historical Archives, Barrie’s online museum. It’s full of pictures, videos, audio, and documents spanning nearly 200 years and it’s completely free!
Be sure to check back soon for more in our Barrie Through the Ages series and we’ll also be updating this interactive map so you can explore Barrie’s history yourself!
Black and White featured image courtesy of The Barrie Historical Archives via barriearchives.ca
