Don Ross
Written & researched by Mary Ann Grant, OMAH History CommitteeThe Founder/Visionary/Trailblazer we recognize today is Don Ross. When Don Ross and his wife Evelyn relocated from the Toronto to Orillia, the big city’s loss was Orillia’s gain. OMAH and other...
Hill’s Restaurant – A History
Written & researched by Ron NashHow would you describe a 98-year-old eating establishment? As there is very little signage these days, one cottager friend just calls it ‘The White House.’The 'White House'. Hill's Maple Leaf RestaurantIt was not so at its...
Richard Oatway
Written & researched by Trish Crowe-Grande, Chair: OMAH History CommitteeRichard Oatway played a pivotal role in the founding of OMAH, from its early days to post the amalgamation of the Art Gallery and the Orillia Historical Society in 1999, serving on its Board...
History of the Mariposa Folk Festival
Written & researched by Trish Crowe-Grande, OMAH History Committee ChairThe Mariposa Folk Festival was spearheaded by Ruth Jones, an Orillia resident and significant figure in the folk music movement, who rallied her local community and Toronto contacts to bring...
History of the Orillia Silver Band
Written & researched by Trish Crowe-Grande and Cliff WhitfieldIn 1949, Harry Peacock, a member of the Orillia Kiltie Band, decided to leave the Kilties to start up a brass-band in Orillia. In the 1950s, Mr. Peacock, along with his band committee, secured the...
The Cracked Bell Caper of 1900
With an Introduction by Fred Blair, Genealogist and Family HistorianThe Cracked Bell Caper of 1900 is a part of Orillia history worth retelling. On December 24, 1956, the Orillia Packet and Times published some recollections by either Alan or Heber Greene, both sons...
History of the Orillia Kiltie Band
Written & researched by Trish Crowe-Grande, History Committee Chair and Cliff Whitfield, Guest ContributorFollowing the success of the Orillia Citizens Band in 1923, winning second place in Class B at the CNE Band Competition, the Kiltie Band brought honour back...
History of the ORILLIA CITIZENS BAND
Written & researched by Trish Crowe-Grande, History Committee Chair and Cliff Whitfield, Guest ContributorIn the late 1800s, it was common to gather at Orillia’s Civic Park (now Couchiching Beach Park) and listen to the Orillia Citizens Band, where hundreds of...
OMAH Celebrates Black History Month – A Tribute to Ron and Ann Harrison
By Mary Ann Grant, OMAH History CommitteeEvery year in February, which is Black History Month, the History Committee at the Orillia Museum of Art & History (OMAH) takes time to acknowledge and celebrate the contributions made by Black Canadians, and to learn about...
Address
Address
Open Hours
Tuesday - Saturday, 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm