Somewhere to Go and Stay Where do you go when you are a railway worker overnighting in Allandale on route to Toronto? Allandale residents wanted to offer a non-alcoholic alternative to the local bars. The Reverend H. D. Cameron, Allandale . . . — — Map (db m273395) HM
Essa Road Level Crossing Downtown Allandale was a bustling hub of activity. Road traffic was regularly interrupted by rail traffic shunting over several tracks which crossed Essa Road just north of Gowan Street. The crossing guard (standing . . . — — Map (db m273396) HM
Too Far To Commute When the railway reached Kempenfelt Bay in 1853, few lived at Allandale. Barrie was over a mile away by wagon and had no rail service. It was too far for a railway worker to commute. Anticipating a demand for housing at . . . — — Map (db m273397) HM
A Railway Town For the century after its arrival in 1853 the railway was the largest employer and benefactor of Allandale. Its good and bad times meant the same for employees. It was the commitment to the success of the railway that united the . . . — — Map (db m273398) HM
Train Watching A simple but exciting pastime was to go down to the station and watch the trains huffing and blowing off steam as they came into the station. These trains to and from the West were long with day coaches, sleepers, dining and . . . — — Map (db m273399) HM
Early European Settlement The first Europeans said to have settled in the Allandale area in the 1840s and 1850s were John Boon, William Hammill, Collingwood Harris, Nathaniel King, James McMahon, and Bernard Sheridan. These settlers could not . . . — — Map (db m273400) HM
