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Allandale: A community of living history (5 photos)

Allandale Neighbourhood Association strives to keep history of Barrie community alive

One of Barrie’s most distinct communities has a long history and continues to thrive.

With its century homes, some dating back almost 150 years, Allandale has deep roots in the railroad, when the train station -- built in 1904, the fourth station on the site -- was a bustling hub along with the nearby master mechanics building, now the Southshore Centre.

The history of the village isn’t lost on many Allandale residents who have decided to make a century house their home, but it’s more about the sense of community, according to Cathy Colebatch, who belongs to the Allandale Neighbourhood Association (ANA).

The ‘village’ is loosely defined as Tiffin Street and Lakeshore Drive to the north then east to the end of Cumberland Street up to Burton Avenue followed by a few twists and turns to Bayview Drive and then west along Baldwin Lane past St. John Vianney Catholic Church and then west again to Campbell Avenue and along Essa Road.

“We love our front porches, always chatting up our neighbours and sharing stories,” Colebatch told BarrieToday from her Cumberland Street home. “Most folks who live in Allandale have chosen to live here because of the small village feel, the character of the neighbourhood, the trees and gardens, the community spirit and the location to the waterfront.

“We love and endure our century homes that are filled with character and charm,” she added. “Endure means a labour of love and money. Nothing is standard built; everything you do in older homes requires custom work usually and working with specialized crafters in their field of expertise.”

Some residents are learning more about their 100-plus-year-old houses.

“Our century homes, as with all historic neighbourhoods throughout Barrie, tell a story of our past history and where we came from, who we shared the land with and why we are here,” Colebatch said. “Their architecture has stood the test of time. Some of our oldest homes are nearing 150 years old and the craftsmanship is outstanding.”

Fellow ANA member Craig Froese, who lives on nearby Burton Avenue, has researched the history of his home and, to varying degrees, about 25 other homes in the area.

He thinks the historic plaques -- which state who the first owner was, their occupation and when the house was built -- give a sense of community to Allandale.

“Most of the people who lived in Allandale worked for the Grand Trunk Railway. They were locomotive drivers, conductors, track men and firemen (who kept the steam engines fuelled),” he said.

“There were other occupations as well: lawyers, physicians, ministers for the local churches and retired people (farmers), widows and a gentleman,” Froese said. “I found that the more affluent and prestigious the occupation, the further from the Allandale Station they lived, because you’re getting farther away from the pollution and the coal dust.

“Apparently they could only do laundry on Sundays here because the rest of the week, if they hung their laundry outside it would be covered in coal dust.”

But now Allandale residents can hang out their laundry any day of the week they want.

“Allandale is and has been a very diverse community for many years,” Colebatch said. “We have rental apartments, second suites, single-family dwellings, rooming and boarding homes, seniors and subsidized housing, all of which make for a very engaging community.

“We have a lot of young families who have moved into the older homes, which is great to see,” she added.

It’s not just older homes being kept up and rejuvenated that makes for a sense of neighbourhood in Allandale.

When the former King Edward School on Burton Avenue closed, a longtime community friend was lost, but a new one gained with Unity Christian High School. The private purchase allowed the building to be refurbished and now students are once again walking its hallways and around the neighbourhood.

“The Allandale community is a great location for our school,” said Unity Christian principal Allen Schenk. “It is very central in Barrie, which is great since we attract students from north and south of the city. It’s also great to be located so close to the Barrie waterfront and to Shear Park, which both offer excellent recreational spaces.”

Students also make a difference in the lives of nearby residents, he added.

“Being good neighbours is an important part of who we are,” Schenk said. “Unity has a service day in early September for our Grade 10 and 11 students where we often help out seniors in our neighbourhood who may need some help with some basic clean up or minor landscaping tasks. It is a pleasure to be a part of this community.”

There are changes on the horizon for Allandale.

Colebatch said the ANA continues to work toward relocating steam engine No. 1531, which once graced the area across from Centennial Beach, from the Simcoe County Museum back to the old Allandale Train Station once it is completed.

“We also hope to include some rail photos, and perhaps indigenous art work in the tunnels of the Allandale GO station that will help tell the Allandale story,” she said, adding “all of Barrie” is waiting for the completion of the historic train station.

Colebatch and her group have high hopes for the site.

“We hope that we can move forward later this year. If the city sticks to the original plan, we are hoping for a community gathering place with Victorian gardens, outdoor seating, perhaps a fountain, farmers' market - a small rail museum would be nice - and a restaurant to celebrate rail coming to Allandale and then on to Barrie in 1853,” she said.

Barrie Mayor Jeff Lehman said the city is completing the archaeology at the site in partnership with two Indigenous communities, the Chippewas of Rama on behalf of the Williams Treaty First Nations, and the Huron-Wendat. That is expected to be completed this summer.

“Previously, the portion of the site that is proposed for the new bus hub (the Essa Road area of the GO station, and the former lawn bowling club) has had the archaeology completed and if the project is funded through our application for infrastructure funds, that could go ahead next year,” he said.

Allandale is full of interesting people and places and has a rich history that dates back long before European settlement, Lehman said, adding that unique history starts with the Indigenous peoples’ use of the southshore land.

“I know it to be one of Barrie’s great historic neighbourhoods, with an engaged population that care about their community,” he said. “For people who don’t live there, it’s a place to walk around shady streets with many century homes and imagine the city as it was perhaps a hundred years ago or more, when Allandale was a railway town.”