This ongoing series from Barrie Historical Archive curator Deb Exel shows old photos from the collection and one from the present day, as well as the story behind them.
83 Berczy St.
The property on which this home stands once included the Eugenia Wesleyan Methodist Church burial ground, which was transferred to the trustees of the Collier Street Wesleyan Church in 1856.
By 1906, Charlotte and John Hambly appeared to have title to the property. J.R. Hambly was the successor to Henderson’s Hardware, which was located at the corner of Owen and Dunlop streets, across from the post office. Above Hambly’s hardware store were professional offices for insurance agents and dentists, like Dr. Brereton, who lived down the street at the corner of Poyntz and Dunlop streets.
In 1909, the trustees of Collier Street Methodist Church sold the land of the old Eugenia Street cemetery to Charlotte Hambly. They advised the town of Barrie that folks had until the end of June that year to remove any remains and headstones and reinter them at Barrie Union Cemetery, at their own expense and according to the wishes of any family or relatives. They would be provided with space and plots that matched the original resting places as much as possible.
The trustees further stated that they would not be providing a second notice. Charlotte Hambly, owner of the cemetery land, herself passed away later that very same year. Unlike the souls that came with her property, her and J.R. are both buried in Drayton, Ont., not Barrie Union Cemetery.
There were other early burial grounds in the area and over the years and it was not so unusual to find old headstones from time to time – occasionally they were even put to new use.
The Simons were other occupants of this handsome home on Berczy Street. Mary and Albert were married in 1896 and lived in Barrie for a short time before moving to Thessalon in northern Ontario for five years. They came back to Barrie briefly and in 1910, they were off again – this time as owners of Stone’s Hotel on Queen Street East in Toronto.
But they returned again to Barrie. Throughout the 1920s, the Simons were always in the news. Albert was an avid curler and member of the Barrie Curling Club; he and his rink were constantly striving for the Tankard.
Mary, originally a Graham from the Guthrie area, had many accomplishments as well. She was a multiple prize winner at both the Oro World’s Fair and the Barrie Exhibition in several categories — baking, preserves, pickling and ‘ladies work’ (embroidery, sewing, etc.). It’s just possible that Mary was more successful than Albert in their respective hobbies!
Mary passed away in 1935 at 83 Berczy St. The funeral was held in her beautiful home and she was buried in Barrie Union Cemetery. Although Albert lived until 1951, in 1946 he sold their lovely hilltop home to the Sisters of St. Joseph, who previously resided on Mulcaster Street. In 1958, 85 nuns attended an event at the Berczy street convent to celebrate the Order’s centennial.
When the residence at 83 Berczy was no longer a convent, the Women and Children’s Crisis Centre occupied it from 1981 until 1991, but the beautiful home still retains a cross on the peak of its roof.
