News & Media Releases
Arthur Peuchen, Canadian Survivor of the Sinking of the Titanic
By Dave Osborne, OMAH member It was 110 years ago this April 15 that the Titanic infamously sank. One of the survivors of that night had ties to Orillia and Simcoe County. Major Arthur Godfrey Peuchen was one of the First-Class passengers on the Titanic...
Booze! Orillia’s Struggle with Drunkenness
by David Town What! No Beer?In 1908 a binding referendum in Orillia outlawed the sale of all alcohol. It was the culmination of a 50-year campaign to “civilize” the town and reduce the violence, crime and domestic hardship that followed drunkenness. For the next 40...
The Rev. Richard Greene’s Electric Car
By Fred Blair The Rev. Canon Richard W.E. Greene served in Orillia for twenty-three years. An inductee in the Orillia Hall of Fame, he made an indelible mark on our community, making it richer due to his passion and commitment. Rev. Greene retired from ministry at St....
OMAH Tribute – Dr. Richard (Dick) Johnston
By Mary Ann Grant, OMAH History Committee There are those in our community who make a huge difference and who enhance the lives of others by their actions and contributions; Dr. Richard (Dick) Johnston is one of those people. Dick Johnston has done this through his...
How an Orillian Facilitated the American Art Pottery Movement
By Fred Blair In 1850, at 37 years old, Frederick married Anna Brownrigg in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was employed as a bookkeeper in Michael and Nimrod Tempest’s Hamilton Road Pottery. In 1865, Frederick purchased the company. He employed from 10 to 31 potters in making...
Two Canadian Winter Olympic Sport Pioneers
By Fred Kallin The first Winter Olympics were held in Chamonix, France, at the base of Mont Blanc in 1924. 2022 is very close to the 100th Anniversary of the those first Winter games. In this article we will recognize a couple of the early Canadian pioneers in the...
The History of the Lumbering Community of Martinville in the Copeland Forest
By Mary Ann Grant, OMAH History CommitteeBackground – An important story to tell David Kennedy, President of the Copeland Forest Association asked Mary Ann Grant, OMAH History Committee member, if she would be interested in researching the history of Martinville, a...
Ornaments from Christmases Past
By Mary Ann Grant Years ago, this writer became a collector of old-fashioned ornaments that fell out of favour with the advent of plastic. Whether antique, vintage or reproduction, they are precious for their beauty and unique design. They are not just the red...
A Tom Thomson Mystery
By Fred Blair If you found the name “Tom Thomson” on the back of a landscape painting, would you think of the Group of Seven? This is a wandering tale about a painting and the possible connections between four landscape painters and Stephen Leacock. In 1888, the...
Private Raymond John Gagnon
By Mary Ann Grant The son of Aimee and Emile Gagnon came to Rathburn, Ontario (Monck Road) from Alberta as a boy. The family operated a small strawberry farm on the 12th Concession of Mara Township. A happy-go-lucky lad, Gagnon enjoyed joking with his siblings and...
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Land Acknowledgement
The Orillia Museum of Art & History is located on the traditional territory of the Anishnaabeg. The Anishinaabeg include the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Pottawatomi nations, collectively known as the Three Fires Confederacy. We respect and observe the long and enduring presence of Indigenous Peoples – First Nations, Metis and Inuit – on this land. Their teachings and stewardship, culture and way of life have shaped our City’s unique identity.
In acknowledging that we occupy colonized Indigenous territories, and out of respect for the rights of Indigenous people, we accept our collective responsibility to recognize our colonial histories as well as their present-day manifestations in order to honour, protect, and sustain this land.