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This 1800s rink was home to Collingwood's earliest hockey teams

The Collingwood Skating Rink is believed to have been constructed in 1883

This week’s Remember This photograph captures a historic scene along the west side of Pine Street on April 18, 1916. A group of more than thirty recruits for Collingwood’s 157th Battalion march north towards Second Street in front of Collingwood’s original skating rink and the home of William and Sarah Hughes.

The Hughes’ beautiful brick house continues to stand at 110 Pine Street, between Pine Villa Retirement Home and Azzurra Trattoria in Collingwood’s Downtown Heritage Conservation District. Recently, the home was renovated to include residential apartments. This building lot was originally owned by William and Emily Wensley, having been purchased in 1856. A single-storey frame home was erected here and was later accompanied by William’s paint shop and a planing mill.

In 1890, William and Emily’s daughter, Sarah, purchased the property with her husband William Hughes and built the two-storey brick building that stands today. Among the building’s unique features is the “X” and “O” patterned gables that face Pine Street. We can’t help but wonder if this was a romantic gesture, symbolizing the love of the home’s inhabitants, or simply a stock design of the Victorian era.

The Collingwood Skating Rink is believed to have been constructed in 1883, as recorded by David Williams of the Huron Institute. Very little is known about the operation of the arena; however, a few tidbits exist.

The Collingwood Curling Club is known to have operated out of this venue, as well as Collingwood’s early hockey teams. Important to note is that women’s hockey got its start here in the late 1890s. The earliest known photograph of women’s hockey in Collingwood is from 1898 and is included as today’s second photograph.

A third photograph captures Collingwood’s 1910 O.H.A Championship Hockey Team and is noted to have been taken inside the Pine Street rink. This is the only known depiction of the rink’s interior.

If you have any information about the history of the Collingwood Skating Rink, please contact Collingwood Museum staff.

Remember This is a weekly series of historic photographs submitted by the Collingwood Museum to CollingwoodToday.ca. These photographs were originally collected and documented by the Huron Institute in a historical catalogue entitled Huron Institute Paper and Records: Volume III. Much of Collingwood’s early history has been preserved due to the dedication and foresight of the early museum’s founders, namely its secretary-curator David Williams, upon its establishment in 1904.