Barrie blossomed in late 1800s, with gas works, hydro, even an opera house! (6 photos)

Who’d a thunk it?

A bushwhacking town on the shore of Kempenfelt Bay grew up during the later 1800s, along with the rest of the world.

At the time of the first European contact in the 17th century, the newcomers learned that the Wyandot (Huron) people had dubbed Lake Simcoe ‘Ouentironk’ — or Beautiful Water. (It was also known as Lake Taronto until it was renamed.)

By the 1830s, downtown Barrie streets were being planned for a village, which would eventually become a town and then a city.

And toward the end of that century, the borough on the bay was evolving; different technologies and commerce led to the creation of a community.

“It wasn’t singularly Barrie. The whole world was getting more comfortable at the end of the century,” says Su Murdoch, a heritage consultant based in Barrie and co-author of Beautiful Barrie.

“So you’ve got gas works, hydro electric and water works and technology improving the standard of living, such as the telephone. Barrie was one of the first adopters of that technology,” she says. “And then other things started to happen.”

Movin’ on up!

What’s a town without an opera house, a girls hockey club, the Barrie Boys’ Famous Kazoo Band, and a library and reading room?

The Grand Opera House (believed to have been located at what is now 23-25 Collier St.) opened in 1896 and was the scene of some high-end entertainment back in the day. (A bit of a backstory can be found in the Beautiful Barrie book.)

“The opera house was quite a coup in the way it was built,” Murdoch says of Jim Sanford, who had the wherewithal and the means to create the 1,200-seat venue in Barrie.

It would feature musical and vaudeville acts

“Other opera houses around the world were being built, but somebody in Barrie decided they wanted one built. He stole money, but he got it built,” Murdoch says.