By Fred Blair, OMAH Family researcher and guest contributerEleanora’s Diary, November 4, 1833 “In the morning, before we went out of the steam vessel, George put his fish [line] in as he saw a good number of fish.  He caught nine very soon, but he had not time to...

By Trish Crowe-Grande, OMAH History Committee ChairLucius Richard O’Brien portrait undated M.O. Hammond Collection: National Gallery of Canada ArchivesEdward and Mary O’Brien At the age of fourteen, Edward George O’Brien entered the naval service as a mid-shipman, but...

By History Committee members Bruce McRae and Mary Ann Grant Recently, our own City of Orillia was featured on the popular game show Jeopardy. What could we have done to garner such attention?CLUE: IN 1912 ORILLIA, ONTARIO WAS ONE OF THE FIRST TOWNS TO TRY THIS CHANGE....

by Mary Ann Grant, OMAH History CommitteeCredit - Special to the Orillia Packet and Times - Kate Grigg Jan 12, 2017 “Dad's Diary includes tales worth telling"The Orillia Museum of Art & History (OMAH) believes that it is important to acknowledge its supporters,...

By Fred Kallin, OMAH History Committee memberAnatari, Pa-Push-Quan, Gwillam’s Island, Lundy’s Island, Creighton Island, Anderson Island, Starvation Island: these are all previous names for a small 25-acre island in Lake Simcoe we now know as Strawberry Island. Few...

By Fred Blair, OMAH History Committee member and Family Historian In 1835, James Dallas and his family sailed from Scotland to New York City, travelled up the Erie Canal, and made their way to Orillia.  In September he purchased 100 acres between Mississaga Street and...

Currently on display at the OPP Museum, these items were seized by OPP members during investigations. The grey Canadian Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) t-shirt was seized as part of the 1982 investigation into forged passports that turned into a killer for hire....

Indians and Canoe at Coldwater River, 1844, Titus Hibbert Ware (Toronto Public Library)By Fred Blair, OMAH History Committee member and Family Historian This is a story of an accidental killing in 1832, an unsatisfactory trial verdict, and how Chief William Yellowhead...